AI music platform Suno prohibits using copyrighted material — but The Verge found that its filters are remarkably easy to defeat. Slowing a known track to half-speed in a free tool like Audacity, or adding a burst of white noise to the beginning and end, is enough to trick Suno into accepting the file. From there, the platform generates a near-identical AI cover, complete with vocals that closely imitate the original artist's voice.

The investigation produced convincing imitations of Beyoncé's "Freedom," Black Sabbath's "Paranoid," and Aqua's "Barbie Girl" using Suno's $24-a-month Premier Plan. Lyrics also have a bypass: copy-pasting official lyrics is blocked, but changing just a few characters — "rain on this bitter love" to "reign on" — clears the filter. Suno only scans on upload and does not recheck outputs before export, meaning the covers can be distributed immediately.

Independent artists appear most exposed. The Verge was able to pass songs by folk artist Murphy Campbell, Charles Bissell, and Claire Rousay through Suno's filters with no modifications at all. Suno declined to comment.

The practical impact is real: AI-generated covers can be uploaded to distribution platforms like DistroKid and monetized, pulling streaming royalties without paying the standard mechanical fees owed to original composers. Deezer has said that up to 85% of fully AI-generated music streams on its platform may be fraudulent. A new site called SlopTracker estimates that 50 tracked AI "artists" are on pace to earn over $300,000 a month on Spotify alone — revenue drawn from the same pool that human musicians depend on.

The WGA reached a new four-year deal with Hollywood studios last week that includes protections against AI training on writers' scripts. No equivalent mechanism yet exists for musicians on streaming platforms.