A Swedish streaming hit has been barred from the country’s official singles chart after the music industry found the credited performer to be an AI creation. According to IFPI Sweden, the folk‑pop song "I know, you’re not mine" (Swedish: "Jag vet, du är inte min") by an artist named Jacub was excluded from Sverigetopplistan because it is "mainly AI‑generated". [1][2][3]

The acoustic guitar‑led track has nevertheless been a commercial success on streaming platforms, topping Spotify’s Swedish Top 50 and accruing more than 5 million streams globally, including roughly 200,000 in Sweden. IFPI Sweden’s chief executive Ludvig Werber said: "Our rule is that if it is a song that is mainly AI-generated, it does not have the right to be on the top list." [1][3][4]

The case came to light after investigative journalist Emanuel Karlsten reported that the release was registered to Danish music publisher Stellar and that two credited rights holders work in the company’s AI department. Karlsten wrote that the picture that emerges is of "a music publisher that wants to experiment with new music and new kinds of artists". [1]

Stellar acknowledged using AI tools in the creative process, saying in a statement that "the artist Jacub’s voice and parts of the music are generated with the help of AI as a tool in our creative process". The company stressed it is "first and foremost" a music company run by creative professionals and said producing the release involved substantial human input and a "clear artistic vision". Stellar added it opposes what it called "AI music slop," a term used to describe mass‑produced, low‑quality AI tracks. [1]

The incident has revived debate over transparency and rights in music-making. Ed Newton‑Rex, a composer and campaigner for artists’ copyright, told The Guardian that mandatory labelling is needed: "If Spotify told users when they were listening to AI music this wouldn’t have made it so high in the charts, taking streams and royalties away from human musicians. Governments must require that AI‑generated works be prominently labelled as a matter of urgency." [1]

Spotify, which is headquartered in Sweden, does not currently require creators to label AI usage, though it has said it backs an industry standard being developed by the non‑profit DDEX to disclose use of AI; adoption on the platform would be voluntary. Spotify has also been attempting to curb AI‑made spam on its service because plays longer than 30 seconds generate royalties and can dilute payments to human artists. [1]

The Jacub episode is not unique: last year an AI‑assembled act called the Velvet Sundown achieved more than 1 million Spotify streams before it emerged the "band" and its imagery were entirely generated. That precedent and the current decision by IFPI Sweden underline the growing friction between audience listening habits, platform practices and industry rules as AI tools are applied to music production. [1][3][4]

📌 Reference Map:

##Reference Map:

  • [1] (The Guardian) - Paragraph 1, Paragraph 2, Paragraph 3, Paragraph 4, Paragraph 5, Paragraph 6, Paragraph 7
  • [2] (AOL News) - Paragraph 1, Paragraph 2
  • [3] (DigitalMarketReports) - Paragraph 1, Paragraph 2, Paragraph 7
  • [4] (TechDigest) - Paragraph 2, Paragraph 7
  • [5] (MyJoyOnline) - Paragraph 2
  • [6] (Sweden Herald) - Paragraph 1
  • [7] (Hiru News) - Paragraph 1

Source: Noah Wire Services