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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

If you distribute formally, I would add musical identity protection/monitoring to your release workflow, along with metadata and rights.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

There's also a potentially positive consequence for *human* artists: Spotify, Deezer, Tidal, labels, and distributors have increasing financial incentives to build identity and provenance verification because the problem is already contaminating their catalogs on an industrial scale.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Not because Sony will protect you—you would be independent, after all—but because if a fake track appears under your name, you need to be able to quickly prove which one is the original and request its removal.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Artistic identity is also becoming an asset that will have to be technically defended. If you have a public catalog, it's essential to keep it very clean: original master + release date + ISRC + distributor + official profiles + metadata + project files + authorship documentation.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

AI greatly reduces the cost of producing thousands of these forgeries.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

This is different from the criminal case of streaming farms. There, the problem was bots playing music to collect fraudulent royalties. Here, the problem is: someone creates a fake song → attributes it or makes it appear to be linked to a real artist → distributes it.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Sony Music Entertainment reported that by the end of September, it had requested the removal of more than 260,000 fake tracks from streaming services, almost double the approximately 135,000 it had detected by March. These include songs generated or manipulated using AI that imitate real artists.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Sony has already requested the removal of more than 260,000 fake songs: AI-powered music forgery is becoming industrialized #Music #AI #Copyright

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

And now we have a fairly concrete precedent: automated stream farming isn't simply breaking Spotify's terms; on a sufficient scale, it can land you in federal prison.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

This matters for legitimate artists because those $8 million didn't appear out of thin air: in royalty-sharing systems, fraud siphons off money that would have corresponded proportionally to actual streams. The DOJ itself frames the harm in this way.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

The crime was not: “making music with AI.” It was: creating a catalog → fabricating fake listeners → fraudulently diverting a shared royalty pool.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

The Justice Department describes it as its first criminal case of this kind. The sentence ended up being significantly less than what the prosecutors had requested. We now have the actual legal outcome.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

The judge handed down the sentence: 18 months in prison, two years of supervised release, and $8,091,843.64 in forfeiture. The scheme used thousands of automated accounts to stream hundreds of thousands of songs (many generated by #AI ) billions of times between 2017 and 2024.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

The man behind the $8 million music fraud has been sentenced: 18 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $8.09 million This is a material update to the news report from September 30. At that time, prosecutors were seeking at least 46 months in prison for Michael Smith #Music #Fraud #StreamingFarms

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

We don't need to do anything right now. But this negotiation does deserve to be monitored over the next few months because it could change the economics of songwriting on US platforms starting in 2028.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

And there's a useful lesson long before you have millions of streams: don't confuse mastering royalties with songwriting royalties. They are different rights and revenue streams.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

If you're both a singer and songwriter, you potentially have two different assets: recording/mastering → artist/performer composition/lyrics → songwriter/publisher Phonorecords V affects precisely the latter

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

The association representing major DSPs—including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Tidal—confirmed that it has already submitted its position on the process. The decision will determine U.S. statutory rates for five years.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

One motivation is to prevent structures like bundles from reducing the base on which mechanical royalties are calculated. This figure is a proposal, not the future approved rate.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

And a major battle is already brewing. The Songwriters Guild of America, Word Collections, and others are proposing to replace part of the current formula with approximately US$0.003 per on-demand stream in 2028, with subsequent adjustments for inflation.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Phonorecords V, the process by which the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board will determine the mechanical royalties that services like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, and YouTube will have to pay to songwriters and publishers from 2028 to 2032, has just formally begun.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

The battle to determine how much US songwriters will receive from streaming between 2028 and 2032 has begun. #Music #Songwriting #Royalties #News 🧵

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

The public consultation is open. You don't need to participate, but it's worth following the results if you distribute your own music. copyright.gov/policy/music...

Music Streaming Fraud | U.S. Copyright Office

Music Streaming Fraud

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

But there's also a risk: platforms could impose stricter controls that end up affecting legitimate artists with small audiences or unusual listening patterns That's why it will be important to monitor how they distinguish between genuine fraud and authentic activity

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Streaming services distribute revenue through mechanisms where fraudulent plays can reduce the share going to legitimate artists If the research leads to better detection mechanisms, transparency, or compensation, it could benefit independent musicians

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Now the problem has escalated: the U.S. Congress is gathering information to assess potential regulatory and legislative responses So it's no longer just about punishing a specific case

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Official dates: Initial comments are accepted until November 23, 2026, and subsequent responses until December 21 Previously, I made a thread about the criminal sentencing of Michael Smith for his fraudulent streaming scheme

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

The consultation includes practices such as bot streaming, click farms, playlist manipulation, and account hijacking It will also examine the measures used by distributors, platforms, and music rights organizations to combat these practices The office is seeking public comment

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

The investigation, prompted by a request from the U.S. Congress, seeks to determine the extent to which fraud affects the music industry, the mechanisms used by perpetrators and what solutions could be implemented

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

On October 7, the United States Copyright Office published an official consultation on #fraud on #streaming platforms #Music #News #National-Investigation

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

It also raises questions: How will human and virtual artists be integrated? What rights will creators need? What part of discovery will the platform control? There is still not enough evidence to say that this model will improve revenues for independent musicians World's changing fast 😅

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Its strategy is starting to encompass: music creation → discovery → audience → live experiences This is important because one of the major limitations of generative music platforms is converting millions of easily created songs into artists with real audiences

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Chua will also lead Songkick, the concert discovery platform that Suno previously acquired The company wants to better connect music discovery, concert recommendations, and the relationships between artists and fans Suno is trying to expand beyond generating songs

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

#Suno begins connecting #AI-generated #music and real #concerts On October 8, Suno appointed Michael Chua, a former #Ticketmaster executive, as vice president and general manager of its Live Experiences division #News

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

I wouldn't recommend abandoning DistroKid solely because of this research, but I also wouldn't assume that a cheap distributor necessarily offers the best protection

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

When evaluating distributors, compare their appeals procedures and keep copies of masters, licenses, contracts, and copyright documentation.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

This means that choosing a distributor shouldn't depend solely on price. The ability to appeal decisions, transparency regarding withdrawals, and the quality of the support are also important. A music catalog can temporarily lose its distribution due to a claim that hasn't yet been resolved.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

DistroKid confirmed the removals, although they maintain that they affect a very small number of recordings and reject Universal's accusations Its not proven that all the reported removals are mistakes The risk is that systems designed to combat infringement can end up affecting legitimate musicians

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Among the documented cases are: McGwire: 6 songs removed including a version for which they claim to have a license Insane Ian: reports the removal of an original composition without sufficient explanation King Chase: reported that an entire album, several years old, was removed without prior notice

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Universal sued DistroKid in September, accusing the distributor of facilitating the massive influx of problematic music content, including AI-generated material. The new development is that artists who claim to have released legitimate music are reporting removals without prior notice.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

An investigation published this weekend by The Verge reveals that #DistroKid is removing recordings from streaming platforms in response to complaints from Universal Music Group. #Musicians #UniversalMusic #News

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I would initially measure success through catalog growth, recurring listeners, saves, followers, and accumulated intellectual property; I wouldnt require immediate profitability for each release.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

A more robust model would be: Independent primary income from music + own catalog + rights ownership + audience + multiple monetization avenues. That allows you to produce because you want to build an artistic career, not because each song has to pay the rent next month.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

This is a pretty strong reason not to plan your financial stability assuming music will pay your bills quickly. But it doesnt say "dont make music" either. It says something different: easy distribution ≠ sustainable business.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The study has a limitation: all participants distribute through Ditto, so it doesn't perfectly represent every independent musician on the planet.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

47% already use #AI in their music production process, but primarily as an assistant (for mixing, mastering, vocal tuning, etc.) rather than completely delegating the creative process. Surprisingly, the reported usage was 74% among those over 55 years old compared to only 24% among #GenZ.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

74% earned less than US$1,000 from music in 2025, 64% held another job, and only 22% considered music their full-time job. A mere 29% believe their current music income is sustainable for the next three years.

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The new global report on independent musicians contains a rather brutal statistic: 74% earned less than US$1,000 in all of 2025. Ditto Music published its Independent Music Report 2026, based on a survey of 5,039 independent artists from 112 countries. + #Music #Musicians #Indie

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I wouldn't assume this case will eliminate the problem, but it sets a rather unpleasant precedent for anyone thinking that inflating streams with bots is simply "creative marketing."

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Vielize @zeittyvielle.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

And the latter is already beginning to produce serious criminal consequences. For independent artists, there's a potential positive effect: if platforms and authorities manage to reduce streaming farms, a larger proportion of the royalty pool should correspond to genuine listening.

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