Spotify removes 75 million AI-generated songs to combat royalty fraud
via The Namibian3 min read
Streaming giant Spotify has removed an estimated 75 million tracks from its platform, targeting mass-produced artificial intelligence AI songs designed to manipulate its royalty system. This action is not aimed at musicians using AI creatively, but rather at "AI slop" – low-quality tracks generated quickly and uploaded in large volumes to divert earnings from genuine artists. Around 100,000 new songs are uploaded to Spotify daily, with nearly half of new music on streaming platforms estimated to be AI-generated. Fraudsters upload vast libraries of generic sounds, meditation music, and repetitive instrumentals under invented artist names, then use bots to generate artificial streams. This redirects money intended for legitimate musicians, impacting independent artists, including those in South Africa, where every stream is significant. Spotify clarifies that AI-created music is not banned if creators have commercial rights and the technology is part of a legitimate creative process. The company has enhanced its machine-learning systems to detect suspicious upload patterns and bot-related streaming activity. It has also prohibited unauthorized AI voice cloning and introduced safeguards against scraping its catalog to train AI models without permission. The debate on AI in music continues, with industry organizations advocating for clearer labeling of AI-generated or AI-assisted songs to promote transparency and protect human artists. Spotify's removal of these tracks is a signi
Free daily or weekly digest of the most important stories from across 18 African countries. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by The Namibian.
Must ReadSpain secured their second World Cup title by defeating Argentina 1-0 in extra time at the MetLife Stadium. Despite the tournament featuring many superstar players, Spain's success was attributed to their formidable defense, which conceded only one goal throughout the competition. Captain Rodri was named player of the tournament, highlighting the team's defensive strength. Spain's victory echoes their 2010 World Cup win, which was also built on a solid back line. The team, coached by Luis de la Fuente, completely outplayed Argentina, who failed to register a single shot on target. Spain also shut out France's attack in the semi-finals. This World Cup, the first with 48 teams, saw an average of 2.96 goals per game. Spain scored 14 goals in eight games, with Ferran Torres scoring the winning goal in the 106th minute of the final. Young players Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi, both 19, are now among only 10 teenagers to have won the World Cup. Spain is now the first country to hold both the world and European championship titles simultaneously since their own double win in 2008 and 2010. They will defend their title on home soil in 2030.
South Africa and France are at the top of their respective tables following the southern hemisphere Tests in the inaugural Nations Championship. Southern hemisphere teams, including the Springboks and New Zealand, will visit the northern hemisphere in November for three Tests each, culminating in a finals weekend at Twickenham from November 27-29. One issue highlighted was the extensive travel for northern hemisphere teams. France's Fabien Galthie questioned the need for his team to travel to Japan and for Fiji to play 'home' Tests in the United Kingdom. Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada described the travel as draining, citing a two-day journey from Tokyo to Auckland, then to Wellington, and another long trip to Perth. Ireland's Andy Farrell, however, viewed these experiences positively, especially with the Rugby World Cup in Australia next year. South Africa, the two-time defending world champions, showed no weaknesses, securing convincing wins over England, Scotland, and Wales. Head coach Rassie Erasmus used these matches to introduce new talent, such as Vusi Moyo, the youngest fly-half in Springbok history. New Zealand's All Blacks also performed well, with coach Dave Rennie expressing satisfaction after their 40-21 win over Ireland. France, despite some reservations from Galthie about the Championship's logistics, demonstrated strong performances. After a narrow loss to the All Blacks, they decisively defeated Australia and Japan, confirming their status as a leading European
Must ReadActing prosecutor general Martha Imalwa has obtained a Prevention of Organised Crime Act property restraint order for assets valued at up to N$75.3 million belonging to fugitive lawyer Marén de Klerk. The order, granted by acting judge James Devittie in the Windhoek High Court on July 10, also targets assets worth up to N$2.3 million from Moyo Estates. De Klerk, who left Namibia in January 2020 and is believed to be in South Africa, is a fugitive from justice in Namibia, with an extradition request sent to South Africa in May. He was questioned by the Anti-Corruption Commission regarding the Fishrot fraud, corruption, and racketeering case, which involves the alleged illegal allocation of Namibian fishing quotas. Imalwa states there are reasonable grounds to believe De Klerk, his company Celax Investments Number One, and other accused in the Fishrot case committed crimes including racketeering, fraud, corruption, and money laundering. These alleged activities involved a scheme to benefit from fishing quotas allocated by former minister of fisheries and marine resources Bernhard Esau. The scheme allegedly diverted N$81.88 million from fishing quota proceeds of the National Fishing Corporation of Namibia Fishcor to an account of De Klerk's former law firm, De Klerk, Horn and Coetzee Incorporated DHC. A forensic analysis by Deloitte indicated that 238,000 tonnes of horse mackerel quotas allocated to Fishcor were sold to the Icelandic fishing company group Samherji, which alleged