Stick Figure Track Becomes Target Of Viral AI Infringement
Artist fears about the theft of their copyrighted work through AI have rapidly become reality in the recording industry. The French streaming platform, Deezer, recently claimed that AI-generated content accounts for about 44 percent of its daily uploads – about 75,000 songs. Now, the 2019 track by American reggae act Stick Figure, “Angels Above Me,” from the album, has been pirated in several unauthorized AI-generated remixes. The fraudulent versions are topping Apple Music charts in multiple countries across Europe including Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, and Ireland. They have also become major streaming hits in Britain, America, and Canada, but the original artist and songwriters are uncredited and unpaid. The Songs Concept After being relatively dormant since its 2019 release, the streaming revival of “Angels Above Me” has even surprised Stick Figures leader and songwriter, Scott Woodruff: “I would have never imagined that first of all it would have been this song or having a resurgence in a viral way in in this fashion.” While on tour, he wrote the song with his friend T.J. ONeill who came up with the original concept in the midst of personal struggles. Woodruff recalls that “It was one of those songs that just seemed to come out