Spotify Probes Claims of 86 Million Tracks Scraped by Activist Group

Spotify says it is investigating claims that an activist group has scraped millions of music files and large amounts of data from its platform.

A group called Anna’s Archive has said it collected 86 million audio files and 256 million rows of metadata, including artist and album information. Spotify confirmed the activity did not involve its full music catalogue, which contains more than 100 million tracks.

The Stockholm-based streaming service, which has more than 700 million users worldwide, said it had shut down accounts involved in what it described as unlawful scraping. It added that a third party had accessed public metadata and used illegal methods to bypass digital rights management systems to obtain some audio files.

Spotify said it does not believe the scraped music has been released online so far. The company said it has since introduced additional safeguards and is closely monitoring for suspicious activity.

Anna’s Archive is best known for sharing links to pirated books. In a blog post, the group said it planned to release the music files through torrents, describing the project as a “preservation archive” aimed at protecting musical culture.

The group claimed the files represent nearly all music listened to by Spotify users, though Spotify has disputed the scale of the claim.

Industry observers say the alleged leak could attract interest from artificial intelligence companies seeking training material. Ed Newton-Rex, a composer and campaigner for artists’ rights, warned that pirated music is often used to train AI systems.

He said governments should require AI companies to disclose the data used to build their models.

The issue comes amid growing tension between creative industries and AI developers. Artists and authors argue that their work is being used without permission, while technology firms say access to large datasets is essential for innovation.

In the UK, the government is reviewing its approach to AI and copyright law following widespread criticism from creative professionals. Ministers have said new policy proposals will be published by March next year.