DistroKid confirms song takedowns are response to UMG lawsuit

What happened

DistroKid has confirmed to The Verge that a "very small number" of recordings were removed in response to claims made by UMG, which filed a lawsuit in September alleging DistroKid created an "AI-slop pipeline." Artists say non-AI works were caught up in the purge, with some reporting removals without notice or explanation. DistroKid VP of Artist Services Amanda Ferri said the company disputes UMG's allegations and regrets the disruption.

The story so far

DistroKid has confirmed to The Verge that a "very small number" of recordings distributed through its platform were removed in response to claims by Universal Music Group, which sued the distributor in September alleging it ran an "AI-slop pipeline." DistroKid VP of Artist Services Amanda Ferri said the company "strongly dispute[s] the allegations underlying UMG's lawsuit" and regrets the disruption to affected artists, adding that it is working to minimize that disruption while protecting artists' ability to release music. Artists say non-AI works were caught up in the removals, with some reporting their songs were taken down without notice or explanation. DistroKid has not said how many tracks were affected or which ones.

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