Recently, Sony Music announced a large-scale crackdown on AI-generated counterfeit music content. To date, the company has successfully removed over 75,000 tracks involving its top artists such as Harry Styles, Queen, and Beyoncé. This initiative underscores Sony Music's strong commitment to protecting music copyrights and combating piracy.

Despite these early achievements, Sony Music remains concerned about the potential impact of AI on the music industry. According to music industry executives, the discovered AI counterfeit music might just be the tip of the iceberg. As identifying and removing this content largely relies on manual screening, the actual number of AI-generated tracks in circulation could far exceed what has been deleted.

Industry experts point out that the widespread distribution of free AI-generated music poses a serious threat to the business model of legitimate music. In documents submitted to the UK government, Sony Music clearly stated that AI-generated counterfeit recordings on streaming platforms have already harmed the commercial interests of legitimate musicians. Executives warn that if the UK government further relaxes copyright protection policies, this situation may worsen.

It is understood that for most record companies, AI-generated counterfeit content primarily focuses on their most popular artists. Several well-known singers under Sony Music, such as Harry Styles, Queen, and Beyoncé, have become targets for AI imitation.

Notably, a recent proposal by the UK government has sparked a strong reaction in the creative industry. The proposal aims to make the UK the "most ideal country for global AI entrepreneurship and development" and allows AI companies to freely use various types of content, including music, films, books, and newspapers, for commercial training unless copyright holders opt-out. This policy has raised widespread concerns and opposition among artists, musicians, filmmakers, and media organizations.

Sony Music emphasized in its submission that the current system’s advantage lies in AI developers having to pay copyright holders to use their content for training. However, the government’s reform plan may reduce AI licensing fees, thereby harming the interests of the UK music industry. As the world’s third-largest recorded music market and second-largest recorded music exporter, the competitiveness of the UK music industry might be undermined.

Currently, the proposal has triggered weeks of protests, with many artists and creative industry professionals expressing concerns and opposition to the new policy. Industry giants like Sony Music are actively seeking dialogue with the government to protect the legitimate rights and healthy development of the music industry. In the future, as AI technology continues to evolve and copyright protection policies gradually improve, how the music industry will address the challenges of AI counterfeit music remains worth watching.