A hit song has been kicked off Sweden’s official charts after it emerged the “artist” behind it was an AI creation.
I know, you’re not mine – or Jug wait, du r inte min In Swedish – Streaming has been successful in Sweden by a singer named Jakob, Spotify on top of the rankings.
However, the Swedish music trade body removed the song from the official charts after learning that it was AI-generated.
An IFPI Sweden spokesperson said, “Jacob’s track is excluded from Sweden’s official chart, Sverigetoplistan, which is compiled by IFPI Sweden. While the song appears on Spotify’s own chart, it is not eligible for inclusion in the official chart under current rules.”
Ludwig Verber, chief executive of IFPI Sweden, said: “Our rule is that if it’s a song that is primarily AI-generated, it doesn’t have the right to be on the top list.”
I Know, You’re Not Mine is an acoustic guitar-based folk-pop song, and the artist’s profile page on Spotify is featured by a sketch of a bearded, T-shirt-wearing man. The song has been streamed over 5 million times globally, including 200,000 plays in Sweden. It is part of a six-track EP called Karleken er Brand, or Love Is Burn.
IFPI Sweden took action when Emanuel Carlsten, an investigative journalist, revealed that the song was registered to a Danish music publisher called Stellar and that the two credit holders worked in the company’s AI department.
“What emerges is a picture of a music publisher who wants to experiment with new music and new types of artists. Who likes to push the limits of the audience’s tolerance for artificial music and artificial artists,” Carlston wrote.
In a statement, Stellar said: “Artist Jacob’s voice and parts of the music are generated with the help of AI as a tool in our creative process.”
Stellar said it was “first and foremost” a music company run by creative professionals, not a tech or AI organization. The company said that “something different” is needed to inspire the AI tool to create a tune that is a hit.
The company said, “We are passionate and experienced music professionals who have invested a large amount of time, energy and dedication into the songwriting and production of this release, and the creation has been a process that has been guided by a clear artistic vision.”
Stellar said this goes against “AI music slop”, the term for mass-produced AI content that is often nonsensical and surreal.
Spotify doesn’t require music to be labeled as AI-generated, but is cracking down on AI-generated spam tracks because each play longer than 30 seconds generates royalties for the scammer behind it — and reduces payments to legitimate artists.
Jacob is not the first AI artist to be a hit with audiences. A “band” called Velvet Sundown amassed over 1 million streams on Spotify last year, before the group was AI-generated, including its promotional images and backstory as well as the music. Its most popular song has now accumulated 4 million streams on the platform.
Ed Newton-Rex, musician and campaigner for protecting artists’ copyright, said Jacob’s success underlined the need for mandatory AI labeling.
“If Spotify had told users when they were listening to AI music it would not have risen so high in the charts, diverting streams and royalties away from human musicians. Governments should require that AI-generated works be prominently labeled as immediacy,” he said.
Last year Spotify, which is based in Sweden, said it was supporting a new industry standard to disclose the use of AI in creating tracks. The product is being developed by DDEX, a technology and music industry-backed non-profit. Spotify said that use of the standard by artists on the platform would be voluntary, and they would not be forced to label music as AI-produced in whole or in part.
Spotify has been contacted for comment.
