AI Music Still Less Than 1% of Streams, Report Says

OC&C Strategy Consultants has published research on the rise of AI-generated music on streaming platforms. Its analysis found that AI tracks still account for less than 1% of total streams.

The findings come as scrutiny of AI-made performers has intensified after attention focused on the rapper Danny Bones, an AI-generated act reportedly linked to the Node Project, an anonymous collective said to be backed by the far-right party Advance UK. The case has raised questions about whether synthetic artists could be used to spread messages or shape opinion before the next general election.

OC&C said the broader commercial picture remains far less dramatic than recent headlines suggest. While generative tools are increasing the volume of music uploaded to streaming platforms, they have so far had a limited effect on listening behaviour, chart success and royalty distribution.

Its report, AI Music: Artists vs Machines, argues that streaming remains highly concentrated despite growth in AI-assisted and fully AI-generated releases. Of about 230 million tracks available on streaming platforms, roughly 90% receive fewer than 1,000 streams a year, according to the analysis. At the other end of the market, the top 0.2% of tracks generate between 60% and 80% of all listening.

That imbalance helps explain why a surge in uploads has not yet led to a broad shift in revenue away from established artists and rights holders. Most AI-generated content is being absorbed into the long tail of tracks that attract little sustained audience attention.

Platform Response

Streaming services are already taking steps to limit the effect of low-quality AI material on their catalogues and recommendation systems. OC&C cited Spotify and Deezer as examples of platforms that have introduced labelling, filtering and other controls to restrict spam-like or poor-quality uploads.

According to the report, Spotify has removed tens of millions of low-quality or spam tracks. Deezer has also changed royalty models to give greater weight to human creators, reflecting a wider industry effort to protect discovery and monetisation as the supply of AI-generated audio rises.

These measures matter because the main risk for platforms is not simply the existence of AI music, but catalogue flooding. If recommendation engines, playlists and search tools become overwhelmed by synthetic tracks produced at scale, streaming services risk damaging both user experience and royalty economics.

Mixed Views

Consumer sentiment remains unsettled. Around half of listeners report discomfort with fully AI-generated original tracks, although curiosity is emerging in some parts of the market if quality improves or the music feels familiar.

That leaves AI music in an uneven position. Adoption appears strongest in functional, or low-stakes, uses such as background music, social media content, ambient listening, and commercial sound beds, while human-led releases still dominate mainstream charts and sustain fan engagement.

The report also pointed to a shift in approach among major rights holders. Universal, Warner and Sony are described as moving from litigation towards licensed partnerships with AI platforms, signalling that parts of the industry now see control and monetisation as more effective than outright resistance.

That suggests AI music is increasingly being drawn into a regulated commercial structure rather than treated solely as a legal threat. For labels and publishers, the issue is becoming one of governance, licensing and revenue management rather than keeping the technology out of the market altogether.

Even so, the analysis stops short of predicting a reset in the industry's power structure. It argues that attention remains the scarce resource in streaming, and that the decisive factor for royalty outcomes is not just the ability to create songs cheaply and at scale, but the ability to build audience interest and sustained fandom around them.

The research found that while some AI artists have attracted attention, few have reached the scale needed to alter the existing pattern in which a small number of global hits command a disproportionate share of streams and income. "The key battleground for music royalties will not be the act of creating music but the ability of creators, platforms and labels to generate consumer interest and sustained fandom."