Curbing Deepfakes in Music — EU Calls for Stricter Regulations for Music Streaming

In a resolution passed with 532 votes in favor, 61 against, and 33 abstentions, the European Parliament called for regulations to ensure fairness and sustainability in the music streaming sector and to support cultural diversity.  

Along with a host of points emphasizing the growing need to address imbalance in revenue distribution in the music streaming market, the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) also demanded that the EU bill should mandate streaming platforms to make their algorithms and recommendation tools transparent to prevent unfair practices, including the manipulation of streaming figures.

MEPs suggested the introduction of a label to indicate when songs are generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and called for addressing deepfakes on music streaming platforms that use authors' identities, voices, and likenesses without consent.

Additionally, the proposed rules should compel streaming platforms to accurately allocate metadata to identify right-holders and enhance the visibility of their works.

The rapporteur Iban García del Blanco (S&D, Spain) said in a media release: “The Parliament is giving voice to the concerns of European creators, who are at the heart of the music streaming market. Cultural diversity and ensuring that authors are credited and fairly paid has always been our priority; this is why we ask for rules that ensure algorithms and recommendation tools used by music streaming services are transparent as well as in their use of AI tools, placing European authors at the center.”

AI-generated music has already caused enough controversy within the industry, as stated by Universal Music warning of potential "widespread and lasting harm" to artists. There are enough concerns centering around the impact on the creative process, potential fraud, and the issue of compensating artists fairly.

Despite these concerns, some musicians are exploring AI as a collaborative tool for composition, adding a new dimension to the industry.