DistroKid confirms it removed tracks in response to UMG claims

DistroKid has confirmed that it took recordings off streaming services in response to claims from Universal Music Group. The Verge reported on October 10 that independent artists had been posting on social media about their music being taken down without notice.

“A very small number of recordings distributed through DistroKid have been removed in response to claims made by UMG,” said Amanda Ferri, the company’s VP of Artist Services. She added that DistroKid “strongly dispute[s] the allegations underlying UMG’s lawsuit and regret[s] the disruption to affected artists.”

The takedowns follow UMG’s suit against DistroKid, filed September 15 in the US District Court for the District of Delaware.

Affected artists and DistroKid’s policy

Some of the artists say their music was not made with AI. The musician McGwire said six of his songs came down, and that he had to approach DistroKid himself to find out why. Before he reached a human, he had a “lengthy circular conversation” with a bot.

One of the six was a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely,” which he says he licensed. Another was built on a beat he bought on a marketplace, one that had also been licensed to other artists. A third was pulled over an alleged uncleared sample, though McGwire says the song he supposedly sampled came out two years after his own.

The rapper Insane Ian posted on X that an original song of his was taken down. Rapper King Chase said an entire album by an artist he works with was removed. “The album had been up for 3–4 years without incident,” he said, with “no copyright strikes or anything either.”

The rights status of the recordings these three cite has not been independently verified. It is also unclear whether their removals were among those made in response to UMG’s claims.

DistroKid’s published guidance on copyright removals says artists who believe, in good faith, that their content came down “as a result of a misidentification or mistake” can submit a DMCA-compliant counter-notice. Once a valid one is filed, DistroKid says it is “obligated to wait 10 business days before reinstating any content or allowing a user to re-upload the affected content.” The same page says streaming services “may choose not to reinstate content” based on their own terms, policies, “or other factors that are outside of DistroKid’s control.” The distribution agreement separately reserves the right to remove a recording “if we receive any legal claims regarding the particular Recording(s).”

The lawsuit

The plaintiffs are UMG Recordings, Capitol Records and Capitol CMG. Their complaint alleges that “DistroKid is flooding platforms with AI-generated ‘slop’ that siphons revenue and listeners from the legitimate artists and rightsholders.” A footnote says: “This lawsuit is not about the distribution of AI-generated music when clearly disclosed as such.”

Part of the case concerns rights conflicts flagged by the systems of YouTube, Meta, TikTok and other services. “Time and again, DistroKid concedes that it does not have rights in the sound recording,” the complaint states.

UMG’s exhibits list 1,000 of its recordings that it says were copied by tracks DistroKid delivered, and its investigation has so far identified nearly 2,000 infringing DistroKid-distributed recordings. The complaint also alleges that DistroKid delivered nearly 12 million tracks to one unnamed streaming service in the six months before the suit, over half of all tracks delivered to that service. Among the remedies UMG seeks is an injunction requiring DistroKid “to promptly remove from all Digital Services all infringing tracks” and to terminate the accounts of repeat infringers.

The sale and earlier suits

In July, the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners agreed to buy a majority stake in DistroKid. Longtime backer Insight Partners keeps a “significant minority stake.” In January, MBW revealed that DistroKid was exploring a sale, with a price of around $2 billion under discussion.

DistroKid is not the first distributor UMG has sued. In November 2024, UMG, ABKCO Music & Records and Concord Music Group sued Believe and its subsidiary TuneCore, seeking damages of at least $500 million. UMG and Believe settled in April 2026, with all claims dismissed with prejudice and financial terms undisclosed.

DistroKid was a founding member of the Music Fights Fraud Alliance, which launched in 2023, and remains a member. It was not among the signatories when IFPI launched its Streaming Integrity Initiative on September 14, the day before UMG filed suit.