EntertainmentAINewsDistroKid has been quietly taking down songs in response to UMG lawsuitArtists are frustrated with the lack of transparency around DistroKid removing their songs.Artists are frustrated with the lack of transparency around DistroKid removing their songs.by Terrence O’BrienOct 10, 2026, 6:52 PM UTCShareGiftImage: DistroKidPart OfAll the latest in AI ‘music’see all updates Terrence O’Brien is the Verge’s weekend editor. He’s covered the tech industry for over 18 years and knows a thing or two about synths.Artists are taking to social media to complain that DistroKid has unceremoniously removed their work without notice. Now DistroKid has confirmed to The Verge that the takedowns are a direct response to claims made by UMG. The label filed a lawsuit in September claiming that DistroKid has created an “AI-slop pipeline.” Artists are saying that their non-AI works are being caught up in the purge, however.Musician and self-described “Video Game boy” McGwire reported that six of his songs had been removed from streaming.
As has been the case with others, McGwire says that there was no communication from DistroKid before or after the removals, and that he had to contact the company for an explanation.DistroKid also makes it exceedingly difficult to contact them. McGwire first had to have a “lengthy circular conversation” with a bot before getting hold of a live agent. One of the songs removed was a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely,” which he claims to have had a proper license for. Another track used a beat he purchased through a marketplace, which others had also licensed.Most infuriating for McGwire was a song removed for an uncleared sample.
The song he allegedly sampled was released two years after his track.Music producer and marketing pro Jesse Cannon told The Verge that, “DistroKid gave up on customer service about two years ago.” He was sympathetic to artists’ plight, but seemed unsurprised by the company’s indifference. “They should have allowed artists to have recourse in this and a warning to debate,” he said, “but I’ve been told by former employees they see customer service as a waste of profits since they have such a high market share and remain ubiquitous.”Much of the frustration from artists stems from the lack of communication and recourse. Nerdcore rapper Insane Ian posted that he “had an original song taken down with no warning, and they wouldn’t tell me why either.” Rapper King Chase also struggled to get through to a person at DistroKid. He told The Verge that an entire album for an artist he had been working with was removed with no communication or explanation. “The album had been up for 3-4 years without incident,” he said, and that there had been “no copyright strikes or anything either.”RelatedUMG is suing DistroKid for alleged deceptive trade practices and “blatant copyright infringement.”Universal Music is launching an AI music platform with ElevenLabsAmanda Ferri, DistroKid’s VP of Artist Services, told The Verge that “A very small number of recordings distributed through DistroKid have been removed in response to claims made by UMG. We strongly dispute the allegations underlying UMG’s lawsuit and regret the disruption to affected artists.
We are working to minimize that disruption while protecting artists’ ability to release their music.”Update October 10th, 2026: Added comment from Jesse Cannon.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Terrence O’BrienAICopyrightEntertainmentLawMusicNewsPolicyThe New York Times pitted five musicians against an AI in a songwriting competition.Terrence O’BrienOct 3Engram is a sampler that turns broken AI hallucinations into musicTerrence O’BrienSep 27Sony and UMG are suing Suno againTerrence O’BrienSep 25Most Popular‘Pure insanity’: Mathematicians will need years to make sense of OpenAI’s latest dropDecade-old RAM is making a comebackGTA VI leaks continue with a lengthy (and very nude) gameplay videoThe Telo MT1 is a big truck trapped in a tiny truck’s bodyGoogle teases Fitbit Edge launch next weekAdvertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native ad
