A recent report from music and entertainment insight company Luminate found that music fans are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with AI songs. This decline is especially noticeable among younger listeners, who are part of Generation Z and Alpha.
This study compared attitudes towards the use of AI in music production from May to November 2025. Over that period, we saw overall interest drop from -13% to -20%.
“Overall, we found that consumers are purely negative,” said Audrey Schomer, media analyst and research editor at Luminate and author of the report, “Generative AI in Entertainment 2026: Examining Industry Strategies, Legal Challenges, and Changing Consumer Attitudes.” “What this means is that people are more likely to feel uncomfortable than comfortable using AI.”
The results include the use of partial AI (such as writing lyrics or creating vocals) as well as fully AI-generated songs and performances, although the latter is viewed in a more negative light. A significant portion of those surveyed (approximately one-third) feel completely uninterested in AI music. Schomer notes that the drop in interest is most noticeable among people whose outlook changed from positive to negative between May and November.
The Luminate report coincides with the rise in generated AI content across social media and streaming platforms. Last year, French company Deezer implemented an AI detection tool that tracks and labels the amount of “synthetic content” uploaded to its streaming platform. Earlier this month, Deezer reported that approximately 44% of its daily uploads are now AI-generated tracks. However, there has been no comparable sustained increase in listening behavior. Deezer found that AI songs account for less than 3% of the total streams on its platform, and that the majority of those streams are considered fraudulent, meaning they are likely driven by bots rather than human listeners. (Deezer says it won’t monetize these streams).
In recent months, artists and advocates have expressed concern about how the proliferation of AI content on streaming services could affect the amount of compensation that real musicians receive. That’s because Spotify, Apple Music, and several other companies rely on a pro-rata model. In other words, if an artist’s catalog represents a certain percentage of the total streaming on the platform, that is the percentage of the total royalty payments the artist will receive. In February, several artist rights organizations around the world released an open letter called “Say No To Suno.” This is a reference to one of the largest AI song generators, which claimed that AI content “dilutes the royalties pool for legitimate artists who own the music on which this song is based.”
Still, the hype around AI music isn’t entirely fake. Several self-published AI projects have already landed in this world, including Xania Monet and Breaking Rust. signboard chart. Monet is an artificially created avatar behind Mississippi poet Terisha “Nicky” Jones, who uses Snow to transform her words into R&B compositions and performances. According to signboardMonet signed a multi-million dollar record deal with Hallwood Media in the fall.
For some singers, these trends raise serious concerns about the state of the industry. In March, R&B singer SZA told the magazine. iD She feels that she is “at war” against AI and the content created using it.
“It happens disproportionately in black music,” SZA said. “Why am I listening to an AI cover of Olivia Deen when Olivia Deen just made a fuss? She can’t even collect a stream. I’m also really pissed off by the type of black music that comes out of AI. It’s weird and typical struggle music.”
Luminate’s study didn’t ask listeners why their views on AI changed, but Schomer suggests that musicians speaking out against AI may be changing the tide.
“If people have some kind of affinity with certain artists who have been active in artists’ rights campaigns, perhaps that increased awareness will make people, especially young people, more anti-AI,” she says.
She also notes that as AI becomes more commonplace in daily life, AI fatigue and brain fly (mental burnout due to overuse of AI) may also be playing a role in changing attitudes, especially among younger generations who have greater anxiety about entering the rapidly changing workforce shaped by AI.
“Employment concerns are on the rise, and I think Gen Z is probably one of the most likely recipients of messages about shrinking job opportunities.” [and] It’s an entry-level job,” Schomer said.
When it comes to music, Luminate’s report found that sentiment is particularly negative towards new songs created by AI in the style and sound of existing artists. While major AI song generators such as Suno and Udio are facing copyright lawsuits for allegedly using artists’ music to train models without permission, several labels and publishers, including Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group, have licensing agreements with these same AI tools. The agreement would compensate artists and songwriters if they choose to use their likeness, voice, or style in AI creations. Last month, Taylor Swift became the latest artist to file for several trademark patents aimed at preventing her voice and images from being used in this way by AI tools.
Looking ahead, some music generators and streaming services, such as Spotify, want to use AI to create interactive ways for fans to remix and modify existing songs. Given Luminate’s research showing that people are most reluctant to use AI to create new music that mimics the sound or style of existing artists, Schomer says building audience trust in these new features could be a big challenge.
“If the biggest decline in young users is in those specific types of activities, that’s exactly what is proposed to happen with these services,” Schomer says. “I think this could potentially create an uphill battle for the service to actually attract users and show that this is a good thing for the industry.”
