Reggae band Stick Figure battles unauthorized AI remixes
reggae band stick figure is fighting a wave of unauthorized ai remixes after their 2018 song 'angels above me' topped charts in six countries. one viral version amassed 1.8 million youtube plays in five days, yielding zero royalties for the band. while spotify and youtube removed some infringing tracks, the label calls the removal process a game of whack-a-mole.
California-based reggae band Stick Figure is battling a surge of unauthorized, AI-generated remixes after their six-year-old song 'Angels Above Me' unexpectedly hit number one on iTunes sales charts in the UK, Austria, Canada, and others. The band's label, Ineffable Records, reported that one specific remix generated over 1.8 million plays on YouTube within five days. While Stick Figure's team successfully issued takedown notices to Spotify and YouTube to remove specific infringing tracks, they characterize the ongoing enforcement as a futile game of whack-a-mole. Industry data from Deezer indicates this is part of a broader trend, with AI-generated tracks detected daily rising from 18% in 2025 to 44% in 2026, 85% of which are estimated to be fraudulent.