Music distributors agree to new anti-fraud measures

The Streaming Integrity Initiative aims to combat fraud in music streaming.

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AI's growth continues to bring serious opportunities for bad actors to commit crimes. Now, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) — a trade organization representing over 8,000 record companies — is teaming up with music companies to fight streaming fraud. 

On Monday, September 14, the IFPI launched the Streaming Integrity Initiative (SII), what it calls "a new industry commitment to combat streaming fraud and protect artists, songwriters and fans from its harm." The initiative provides five commitments for participating distributors, all of which focus on fraud reduction.

"Streaming fraud involves the manipulation of digital music services to generate revenue from plays that are not genuine," the IFPI said in its announcement. "It is often happening at scale, undermining trust in streaming services and siphoning revenues away from the artists, songwriters, record labels, music publishers and others who power the music economy."

IFPI stresses the importance of taking significant action against ever-improving technology and AI-powered tools. Under the SII, distributors commit to:

• Verify rights ownership and customer identities through robust rights verification and Know Your Customer (KYC) processes

• Vet content using effective tools and processes to identify infringement, fraudulent activity and AI-related risks

• Act by detecting, investigating and mitigating suspected fraud, including acting against repeat offenders

• Share intelligence, where legally permissible, to help prevent bad actors from moving across services and platforms

• Measure and continuously strengthen anti-fraud systems to address evolving threats

Initial music distributors supporting SII include Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group and Merlin.The IFPI is encouraging more companies to join the initiative.