Are you listening bots? Survey shows AI music is virtually unknown

A Deezer-Ipsos survey on Wednesday showed that a staggering 97% of listeners cannot distinguish between artificial intelligence-generated and human-composed songs, underscoring growing concerns that AI could impact the creation, consumption and monetization of music.

The findings of the survey, for which Ipsos polled 9,000 participants in eight countries including the US, UK and France, highlight growing ethical concerns in the music industry as AI tools capable of creating songs raise copyright concerns and put artists’ livelihoods at risk.

Music streaming platform Deezer said it also showed that most listeners want clear labeling on AI-generated music.

The study found that 73% of respondents supported disclosure when recommending AI-generated tracks, 45% asked for filtering options, and 40% said they would skip AI-generated songs altogether. About 71% expressed surprise at the inability to differentiate between man-made and synthetic tracks.

Deezer, which has 9.7 million subscribers, has seen daily AI music submissions exceed 50,000 – about a third of total uploads, up sharply from 18% in April. It has introduced tagging to promote transparency and excluded AI-generated tracks from editorial playlists and algorithmic recommendations.

“We strongly believe that creativity is generated by human beings, and they should be protected,” Deezer CEO Alexis Lanternier told Reuters, urging transparency.

Lanternier noted the complexity of implementing differential payment structures for AI music, and said that “large-scale variation” in remuneration policies remains challenging. Deezer has also begun to exclude fake streams from royalty payments.

The issue gained attention earlier this year when AI band “The Velvet Sundown” attracted one million monthly Spotify listeners before its synthetic origins were exposed. Universal Music Group recently settled a copyright case with AI music company Udio. While financial terms were not disclosed, the parties plan to launch an AI-powered music creation platform in 2026 using licensed music to train the tool.

On Tuesday, a Munich court ruled that OpenAI’s ChatGPT violated German copyright laws by reproducing song lyrics, with the company saying it may appeal the decision.

Consumer attitudes toward AI in the media remain mixed. A May survey by Luminate found that most American audiences were indifferent or accepting of the use of AI in cinema tasks such as visual effects, but were skeptical of AI-written scripts or synthetic actors.