I’ve spent a few frustrating weeks trying to distribute the new Unquiet Mind album to streaming services, and I’ve had to pull one of the tracks from the release (except on Bandcamp). The song, Unquiet Mind, has been falsely flagged by an AI as using uncleared samples. It doesn’t, because I don’t use uncleared samples or steal other people’s work.

It’s all the more ironic because my own work has been stolen – by AI. Books I’ve written are in the stolen datasets of the big AI players.

As things stand now, an AI on an unspecified streamer or download store somewhere in the world has decided that I’ve nicked something from a Middle Eastern band even more obscure than mine, a band whose track is geoblocked so it can’t be played in the UK. The decision is final, there’s no-one to appeal to and that one store’s mistake means I can’t submit the song to any streamers at all.

Don’t you just love AI?

It’s not the end of the world because there’s no money involved: my streaming numbers are insignificant. But it’s still annoying. If I were good at marketing I’d be plugging the song on social media as THE SONG THEY TRIED TO BAN, but I’m not so I’m not (other than in the headline, because I think it’s funny). If you’re interested, the song is available on our bandcamp.