Deezer has struck a deal with Hungary-based music rights organization, the Bureau for the Protection of Performers’ Rights (EJI), to license its AI detection technology.
The France-born streaming service revealed in January that it was planning to license its AI-detection tech to the wider music industry and made it available via its revamped Deezer for Business unit earlier this month.
Under the agreement, EJI has licensed the usage rights for Deezer’s AI Detection solution, which it says makes it the first Hungarian collective management organization “capable of detecting the presence of generative AI in recordings made available to the public.”
EJI does not pay royalties for recordings created with the help of generative AI.
The deal solidifies a notable shift in the relationship between the two organizations, which clashed in a 2016 Hungarian court dispute over performers’ rights. They say they have worked together for close to a decade to “create a transparent online music market that respects the interests of all parties.”
Deezer disclosed in January that it was receiving approximately 60,000 fully AI-generated tracks per day — around 39% of all daily deliveries to the platform.
Up to 85% of streams on that content were found to be fraudulent, demonetized, and removed from the royalty pool, according to the company.
Deezer first launched its proprietary AI detection tool in January last year, and had already begun licensing the technology commercially, including to French collecting society Sacem.
It says the tool automatically recognizes and flags AI-generated recordings, “increasing transparency for all stakeholders in the music market,” adding that it remains the only streaming service to actively detect and label AI-generated content.
“Over the past years, we have built the most advanced AI detection technology in the industry, and we are making it available to the entire music ecosystem.”
Alexis Lanternier, DEEZER
“Music is a human creation and right-holders should be protected,” said Deezer CEO Alexis Lanternier. “At Deezer, this has been our commitment since our founding.
“Over the past years, we have built the most advanced AI detection technology in the industry, and we are making it available to the entire music ecosystem. We are proud that EJI joins us in this movement for transparency and to protect the rights of human creators.”
“We are actively working on solutions that provide protection for artists in the competition against machines.”
Pál Tomori, EJI
Welcoming the deal, Pál Tomori, Director of EJI, added: “We are actively working on solutions that provide protection for artists in the competition against machines, and for this, filtering out recordings made by AI is necessary. However, this is not enough by itself, as the training of AI should only be permitted with the artists’ consent and compensation in the first place.”
Last week, Deezer unveiled its “revamped” ‘Deezer for Business’ B2B platform, bringing its partnership, advertising, and technology licensing offerings under one brand.
In its most recent financial results, the Paris-headquartered company announced it had achieved profitability for the first time in its history, reporting net income of EUR €8.5 million for fiscal year 2025 — a sharp reversal from the €26 million loss it posted in 2024.Music Business Worldwide
