Experts say that by 2026, human music will be marketed as a scarce premium

AI-generated audio is already mainstream and is expected to saturate the market by 2026. This could reduce the perceived value of AI-produced tracks and create a strategic opportunity for authentic, human-made music.

Experts say that in 2026, human authorship will be marketed as a scarce, premium commodity.

Spotify breach and impact on licensing
The recent massive data breach at Spotify, which exposed 256 million tracks, can be easily used to train AI models. This would make attribution nearly impossible.

Legal experts say AI companies will likely negotiate licensing as a form of “risk management” after models are already deployed, rather than seeking consent upfront.

Small publishers may form consortiums to gain leverage against AI companies, demanding at least 50% of revenue for songwriters.

These AI-driven developments are expected to shift the music industry’s focus from controlling access to content toward managing data leaks and maintaining track origin integrity after breaches.