Story perspectives

SZA Condemns AI Music; Deezer 44% AI, Spotify Signs Deal

6/21/2026

Summary

SZA Condemns AI

SZA said AI systems trained on 238 of her songs, some unreleased.
She called AI-supporting musicians “disgusting” and condemned the $3 million deal for AI R&B artist Xania Monet, the first AI act to chart on Billboard.
Deezer said AI uploads now represent 44 percent of its catalog, about 75,000 tracks daily.
Spotify and Universal Music Group signed a licensing deal that lets Premium users generate AI covers and remixes of licensed songs.

Summary

Google Scrapes Music

The Atlantic uncovered four music datasets with over 21 million tracks—two holding 12 million and 9 million songs and the other two over 100 000—used to train AI generators.
Google and Stability AI confirmed in research papers they accessed these collections for model training.
The datasets were scraped from YouTube and Spotify with tools that bypass logins and ads, violating platform terms and placing licensed tracks in a legal gray zone that raises creator-compensation concerns.

History

Historical Context

Napster, launched by Shawn Fanning in June 1999, let millions share MP3s until the Ninth Circuit affirmed a 2001 injunction that held the service liable for contributory infringement in A&M Records v. Napster. The RIAA, representing 18 record companies, forced Napster’s closure in July 2001, a precedent that now guides lawsuits over AI-generated songs that copy music from platforms like Spotify.

1 of 3

SZA Condemns AI

SZA said AI systems trained on 238 of her songs, some unreleased.
She called AI-supporting musicians “disgusting” and condemned the $3 million deal for AI R&B artist Xania Monet, the first AI act to chart on Billboard.
Deezer said AI uploads now represent 44 percent of its catalog, about 75,000 tracks daily.
Spotify and Universal Music Group signed a licensing deal that lets Premium users generate AI covers and remixes of licensed songs.

1 / 3