Digital Grave Robbery: Spotify’s AI Authentication Failure
Spotify has been duped by a ghost. A song called “Together” mysteriously appeared on Blaze Foley‘s profile recently. The problem? Foley died in 1989. The track, uploaded by an entity called “Syntax Error,” mimicked a legitimate release in every way—convincing album art, proper credits, the works. Classic case of AI impersonation. Fans weren’t having it.
The digital resurrection of Blaze Foley—complete with convincing aesthetics—exposes Spotify’s vulnerability to AI grave-robbers.
When listeners and Foley’s label, Lost Art Records, realized the deception, they sounded the alarm. After 404 Media reported the issue, Spotify finally pulled the plug on the fake tune, citing policy violations. Too little, too late for some fans who felt violated on behalf of the dead artist.
This isn’t Spotify’s first rodeo with digital ghosts. Guy Clark, another deceased musician, has been similarly impersonated. The platform’s verification system is clearly about as effective as a chocolate teapot. They rely on third-party distributors like SoundOn to do the vetting, and well, you see how that’s working out.
The numbers are staggering—nearly 20% of music on Spotify is now artificially created. That figure has practically doubled in just three months. Let that sink in. One in five “artists” you’re hearing might be nothing but code. Without substantial human contribution, these AI-generated tracks may not even qualify for copyright protection.
Fans are furious, and honestly, who can blame them? The thought of AI mimicking beloved artists has people questioning everything they stream. Lost Art Records had to play detective to protect their artist’s legacy. Media outlets jumped on the story, further exposing Spotify’s embarrassing oversight.
The legal questions here are thornier than a cactus convention. Copyright infringement? Definitely. Accountability? Good luck. The fake song listed Syntax Error as the copyright owner, making the trail intentionally murky.
AI technology can now mimic musical styles and voices with disturbing accuracy. While legitimate AI music projects exist, they typically announce themselves as synthetic. This wasn’t that. This was digital grave-robbing.
Spotify has banned similar content before, like tracks from The Velvet Sundown, but their approach to enforcement feels random at best. Apple Music and YouTube are facing similar challenges with deepfake content appearing on their platforms. The platform promised action against repeated violators who fail to prevent fraudulent uploads, but their overall approach seems perpetually caught between embracing AI’s potential and preventing its abuse.
The incident leaves fans with an uncomfortable reality: that “new release” from your favorite long-gone artist might just be a sophisticated fake. And Spotify might not catch it until someone else does their job for them.
