DistroKid Deletes Songs Without Warning After UMG Lawsuit

DistroKid, a service that helps independent musicians get their songs on Spotify, Apple Music, and other platforms, has quietly been removing tracks. Artists only found out when their music disappeared. DistroKid confirmed to The Verge that the removals are in response to a lawsuit filed by Universal Music Group (UMG) in September. UMG claims DistroKid has created an 'AI-slop pipeline' — meaning it allows AI-generated music to be uploaded easily. But many artists say their human-made songs are being wrongly removed.

Musician McGwire had six songs taken down, including a licensed cover of Stevie Wonder's 'Isn't She Lovely' and a track using a purchased beat. He received no warning. When he contacted DistroKid, he had to endure a 'lengthy circular conversation' with a bot before reaching a human. Another song was flagged for an uncleared sample — but the sampled song was released two years after his. Rapper King Chase says an entire album he worked on was removed after being up for 3-4 years with no issues.

Music producer Jesse Cannon says DistroKid 'gave up on customer service about two years ago.' He believes the company sees support as a waste of profits because it dominates the market. Artists are angry about the lack of warning and the difficulty of appealing. DistroKid's VP of Artist Services, Amanda Ferri, says only a 'very small number' of recordings were removed, and they regret the disruption. They are working to minimize it while protecting artists' ability to release music.

This situation highlights the power imbalance between music distributors and independent artists. While UMG's lawsuit aims to curb AI-generated music, the collateral damage is hitting real musicians who rely on streaming income. For listeners, it means some songs may suddenly disappear from your playlists. For artists, it's a reminder that their work can be taken down without explanation, and they have little recourse.