The investigation and arrest was part of \u201cOperation out of Tune\u201d and was carried out by Cyber Gaeco, a cybercrime unit of the Prosecutor\u2019s Office of the State of Goi\u00e1s.<\/p>\n Authorities also uncovered evidence of further infringement, in particular 36 tracks allegedly stolen from local composers through promotional WhatsApp groups.<\/p>\n \u201cThese tracks, along with associated fake artist profiles, have been removed from the platform by request of the prosecutor\u2019s office,\u201d IFPI stated.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile not presently included in the criminal charges, the use of artificial intelligence to generate music tracks was also identified during the investigation and may be brought into the case at a later stage.\u201d<\/p>\n The use of generative AI to create large volumes of tracks in order to skim music streaming revenue has been a concern in the music industry for several years.<\/p>\n It\u2019s part of the motivation behind some streaming services\u2019 shift to new payout models that reduce or eliminate payouts for less-played tracks. As of last year, Spotify is enforcing a rule<\/a> that requires a track to get at least 1,000 plays in 12 months<\/strong> to qualify for monetization. Deezer<\/strong> has begun shifting to an “artist-centric\u201d payment model<\/a> that rewards streams of tracks with relatively large play counts and those from artists with larger followings.<\/p>\n \u201cSimply put, streaming manipulation of this nature is theft \u2013 stealing directly from artists and betraying fans.\u201d<\/p>\n Victoria Oakley, IFPI<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cSimply put, streaming manipulation of this nature is theft \u2013 stealing directly from artists and betraying fans,\u201d IFPI CEO Victoria Oakley<\/strong> said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe commend the actions of the State of Goi\u00e1s prosecutor\u2019s cybercrime unit for their work in this case and will continue to work closely with local authorities in Brazil, but more broadly across the world, to ensure this illegal activity is stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n Streaming manipulation \u201cis one of the biggest concerns of the music sector,\u201d said Paulo Rosa<\/strong>, President of Pro-M\u00fasica Brasil, adding that his trade group \u201cwill continue to work closely with Brazilian authorities to tackle these fraudulent practices.\u201d<\/p>\n In recent years, Brazil has proven itself to be an aggressive defender of music rights.<\/p>\n In 2020, authorities announced<\/a> they had taken down 14 websites involved in streaming manipulation. The following year, authorities announced they had shut down<\/a> 10 streaming manipulation services, while another 20 stopped offering the services. Additionally, dozens more such services had their listings removed from online marketplace Mercado Livre.<\/p>\n With the cooperation of trade groups like IFPI and Pro-M\u00fasica, Brazilian authorities have been running \u201cOperation 404<\/strong>,\u201d an ongoing initiative to take down copyright-infringing music services. According to<\/a> the Office of the US Trade Representative, as of September 2024, seven Operation 404 initiatives had been carried out, the most recent focusing on stream-ripping sites and apps in Brazil and Paraguay.<\/p>\n In 2024 another initiative, Operation Redirect<\/strong>, took down<\/a> eight illegal online music services that were being used to distribute malware to users.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/files\/2025\/03\/Screenshot-2025-03-19-at-12.52.07-80x49.jpg)
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