An op-ed from MusicInfra CEO Björn Lindvall argues that generative AI's most pressing threat to the music industry lies not in creativity but in the sector's ageing infrastructure for tracking royalties and attribution. He warns that the surging volume of AI-generated and AI-assisted music will soon overwhelm systems designed for a simpler era of streams and downloads, unless rightsholders and platforms rebuild them urgently.

Lindvall cites Deezer, which is reportedly receiving around 90,000 AI-generated tracks daily, adding significant strain even though many are demonetised. He argues the bigger challenge is yet to come: as AI-assisted elements blend into human-made songs, and as licensing deals between AI firms and labels require tracking potentially billions of tokens back to rightsholders, the industry will need far more granular attribution than current infrastructure can support. He also points to a widening range of AI-driven apps, games and platforms generating continuous usage data, compounding the reconciliation burden.