{"id":32288,"date":"2026-05-08T13:48:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T13:48:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/32288\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T13:48:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T13:48:17","slug":"stick-figure-track-becomes-target-of-viral-ai-infringement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/32288\/","title":{"rendered":"Stick Figure Track Becomes Target Of Viral AI Infringement"},"content":{"rendered":"

The American reggae act\u2019s \u201cAngels Above Me\u201d song is being repeatedly cloned, but others are claiming the performance credit and the revenue.<\/p>\n

\"One<\/p>\n

LONG BEACH, CA – FEBRUARY 11: Singer Scott Woodruff of the band Stick Figure performs onstage during day 2 of the One Love Cali Festival at The Queen Mary on February 11, 2018 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

Artist fears about the theft of their copyrighted work through AI have rapidly become reality in the recording industry. The French streaming platform, Deezer, recently claimed that AI-generated content accounts for about 44 percent of its daily uploads \u2013 about 75,000 songs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now, the 2019 track by American reggae act Stick Figure<\/a>, \u201cAngels Above Me,\u201d<\/a> from the World On Fire album, has been pirated in several unauthorized AI-generated remixes. The fraudulent versions are topping Apple Music charts in multiple countries across Europe including Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, and Ireland. They have also become major streaming hits in Britain, America, and Canada, but the original artist and songwriters are uncredited and unpaid.<\/p>\n

The Song\u2019s Concept<\/p>\n

After being relatively dormant since its 2019 release, the streaming revival of \u201cAngels Above Me\u201d has even surprised Stick Figure\u2019s leader and songwriter, Scott Woodruff: \u201cI would have never imagined that first of all it would have been this song or having a resurgence in a viral way in in this fashion.\u201d While on tour, he wrote the song with his friend T.J. O\u2019Neill who came up with the original concept in the midst of personal struggles. <\/p>\n

Woodruff recalls that \u201cIt was one of those songs that just seemed to come out of thin air. It kind of all fell into place and it felt very natural, and we’d always loved that song. There’s a lot of people that connect to it on a spiritual level for people who have lost people in the past and for many different reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Changes in the Music AI Landscape<\/p>\n

Billboard reported on the establishment of licensing deals<\/a> between the AI music creation companies Suno and Udio, and major labels including the Universal Music Group (UMG) and the Warner Music Group (WMG). Such agreements have occurred despite the majors and the RIAA suing both Suno and Udio<\/a> in 2024 for copyright infringement. By November 2025, UMG, WMG and Sony all struck licensing deals with a new AI music platform, Klay<\/a>. <\/p>\n

While many such deals include \u201copt-in\u201d clauses requiring the consent of artists to license their creative material for AI use, other parties in the general public are unrestricted in reshaping copyrighted works without permission. <\/p>\n

SANTA ANA, CA – FEBRUARY 13: Singer\/musician Scott Woodruff (C) of the band Stick Figure performs onstage at The Observatory on February 13, 2016 in Santa Ana, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

In addressing the situation with \u201cAngels Above Me,\u201d Woodruff confirms that others are cloning versions and claiming creative ownership of the material that they upload. He emphasizes that \u201cIt’s all playing out in real time. There’s no formula for how to deal with this. There’s nothing in place in the industry to protect artists right now because it’s all new.\u201d<\/p>\n

AI Effects and Solutions<\/p>\n

Even as unauthorized remixes of \u201cAngels Above Me\u201d spread globally, according to Woodruff\u2019s recent Instagram post<\/a>, the original Stick Figure version is also an unexpected beneficiary across all streaming platforms, reportedly receiving five times more plays than normal. However, from the artist\u2019s viewpoint, the hundreds of hours invested in writing recording and mixing the songs is rapidly undermined by pirate third parties who \u201chit something in one click and it goes ten times bigger than any song we\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ineffable Music Group provides label services to Woodruff\u2019s Ruffwood Records and manages Stick Figure. While Ineffable\u2019s CEO and founder Thomas Cussins and president Adam Gross acknowledge the infringement\u2019s side effect of greater international market attention for Stick Figure, they remain deeply concerned about the unregulated state of AI music outlets and the likely consequences for artists. <\/p>\n

Cussins describes the current situation surrounding Stick Figure\u2019s \u201cAngels Above Me\u201d as \u201ca watershed moment\u201d that should usher in a series of protections for rights holders. He is alarmed by the deals that the major labels have made with the AI music vendors \u201cbecause none of the independent music companies had a seat at the table. We’re representing 40% of the artists of the consumption, and we have zero seat at the table for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Affirming Cussins\u2019 perspectives, Gross adds that there are too many grey AI music areas demanding immediate attention. He notes that \u201cI think one of the realities of this \u201cAngels Above Me\u201d situation is it\u2019s a fully AI-generated track with AI-generated vocals and melodies, and although the melodies are not exactly the same, people are trying to call them covers. They\u2019re not.\u201d<\/p>\n

SANTA ANA, CA – FEBRUARY 13: Singer\/musician Scott Woodruff of the band Stick Figure performs onstage at The Observatory on February 13, 2016 in Santa Ana, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

Stick Figure\u2019s Woodruff says that some efforts to reach out to the people who have posted popular AI versions of his song have been met with claims for fifty percent of all generated income. Gross describes the continual takedowns of infringing versions of the song as an exhausting \u201cwhack-a-mole\u201d approach that could be simplified with effective administration by distributors and streaming platforms.<\/p>\n

Gross says \u201cwe want to do everything we can to push for the legislation to pressure these companies in any ways that we can,\u201d and Cussins asserts that \u201cwe need immediate, comprehensive reform on this to be able to credit back the original writers and the original artists,\u201d with reversion of the bulk of the publishing and master recording revenue to the creators. Gross adds that \u201cthings have to end with licensing agreements in place and with a model that hopefully benefits everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Stick Figure\u2019s next album containing fifteen new tracks is nearing completion, with release planned for either late this year or early in 2027.<\/p>\n