Sony, Universal and Warner Back a New Pact Against Streaming Fraud
IFPI has launched the Streaming Integrity Initiative, asking music distributors to verify customers, vet uploads for AI-related risks, and ban repeat fraudsters. Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group are among the 27 backers. The aim is to stop bot-played tracks from draining artists’ royalties.
September 15, 2026 – 3:25 pm
Credit: Viktor Forgacs on Unsplash
The recording industry’s global trade body has launched a new commitment asking music distributors to stop fraudulent tracks before they reach streaming services.
IFPI announced the Streaming Integrity Initiative in London on September 14. Twenty-seven companies and industry groups back it at launch. They include major players like Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group. Distributors such as CD Baby, Ditto Music, FUGA, The Orchard, and AWAL have also signed.
How the Fraud Works
Streaming services pay artists and songwriters from royalty pools. IFPI states that fraudsters upload tracks built for fraud, sometimes through distributors, then use “armies of bots” to play them. These fake plays take money from these pools, reducing what legitimate artists and songwriters earn.
"Streaming fraud misleads fans and deprives legitimate artists and songwriters of income that should rightfully flow to them. This is theft, plain and simple,” said Victoria Oakley, IFPI’s chief executive.
IFPI argues that prevention is key as AI tools become more widely available. The initiative asks distributors to screen for AI-generated content and for misuse of artists’ voices, names, images, and likenesses.
Five Commitments for Distributors
IFPI considers distributors a key entry point to streaming services, which is why the initiative focuses on them. Signatories commit to five practices, detailed on the campaign’s End Streaming Fraud site.
- Verify rights ownership and check customers’ identities before distributing music.
- Vet uploads for infringement, fraud, and AI-related risks, using tools such as audio recognition and metadata checks.
- Detect and investigate suspected fraud, with repeat offenders to be banned across all platforms.
- Share high-confidence fraud indicators with other companies, where data protection law permits, to prevent offenders from moving to another service.
- Regularly measure and update anti-fraud systems.
Who Else Needs to Act
IFPI notes that distributors are only one part of the solution. It also wants streaming platforms to detect fraud at the source, and lawmakers to establish clear, strong, and effective laws against streaming fraud. They are inviting more distributors, streaming services, and industry bodies to join.
Several signatories, such as Merlin and WIN, stated that the commitments align closely with their existing practices.
A Growing Crackdown
The music industry has been fighting on several fronts against AI, from licensing deals to streaming fraud. Streaming services have also taken proactive measures. TIDAL announced in June it would strip royalties from AI-generated music, and Deezer released a free tool to flag AI tracks in playlists.
AI music companies are also adjusting their strategies under legal pressure. Suno has stated it will watermark the tracks.