A Queen's University Belfast researcher says fast-growing use of AI, deepfakes and bots is distorting the UK music ecosystem, leaving fans and artists out of pocket and calling for urgent action to restore transparency and trust.

Dr Katherine Pittalis used her PhD to interrogate fast-changing technologies across music-streaming platforms, online ticket retail and music-related social media. She is developing the thesis into a book intended as a wake-up call for the sector.

As festival season continues, Dr Pittalis argues the UK's music regulatory framework is "woefully lagging behind" the EU and US when it comes to transparency around malicious actors' deployment of bot technologies.

Her work explores 'metric bots', which artificially inflate social-media 'likes' and 'follows', and 'Artificial Musicians' — deepfake-driven personas amplified by bots to function as AI 'influencers' — that create hype and game recommendation algorithms around particular artists.

On ticketing, the research finds malicious tools are growing more sophisticated, with bots continually evolving to dodge the rules of social platforms, streaming services and primary ticket vendors. Scams are rife on 'secondary market' sites where high-demand concerts are resold at steep mark-ups, with multiple cases identified in which customers paid large sums for tickets that did not exist. More informal Facebook 'buy and sell' groups are described as "highly unregulated" and, in some cases, even moderated by bots. The study also notes instances of bots moderating 'community notes' on social media, despite those notes being designed to fight misinformation.

"It's quite a depressing picture," comments Dr Pittalis. "Social-media platforms are incredibly secretive about the use of bots. One study I consulted even found that X (formerly Twitter) has more bots now than when Elon Musk took it over and promised to get rid of them.

"From my research, the bots I found look more authentic through how they act with authentic users. Even with protocols and safety measures in place, bots are continuing to thrive in these online environments and distort organic users' perceptions of what is real and what is misleading content with the potential to cause harm."

For the forthcoming book, Dr Pittalis is also examining: - The use of social bots to spread malicious misinformation to damage artists' reputations, including the circulation of explicit, deepfake images of Taylor Swift on social media in 2024.

- AI-fuelled dynamic pricing on ticketing platforms, where prices fluctuate with demand — as seen for Oasis' UK and Ireland tour last year. While legal, retailers must give consumers clear pricing information and avoid omissions, in line with Competition and Markets Authority recommendations following its investigation into the Oasis sale.

- AI-generated music. While many artists use AI tools in production, some tracks are created entirely by AI. Pressure is building for clear labelling; Spotify announced last week that from mid-September, 'AI Persona' badges will start appearing on AI-generated artist profiles.

The PhD was conducted jointly between Queen's School of Law and the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EEECS). Dr Pittalis holds an undergraduate degree in Music and an MSc in Law and Technology, both from Queen's.

The research was supervised by Professor Giancarlo Frosio (School of Law) and Dr Hans Vandierendonck (EEECS). Prof Frosio said: "This research makes an original and timely contribution to our understanding of how malicious automation is reshaping the music ecosystem.

"Its central insight is that this is neither simply a platform problem nor a state problem; effective regulation requires clearer legal duties and enforcement alongside much stronger platform-level detection, transparency and accountability."

In the book, Dr Pittalis calls on the UK music industry, social media companies and policymakers to tighten cyber-security and oversight to deliver a fairer deal for consumers and artists.

"It's not fair," she concludes. "Consumers and authentic musicians are being squeezed out, marginalised by the very industry meant to support them.

"It might sound apocalyptic, but the truth is the bots are running amok – UK legislation has fallen way behind. It's not anticipating future trends; it's reacting to what's already happened.

"It needs to be future-proofed which includes more oversight into how social media and other online platforms control breaches and uphold user safety from bots. The industry needs to take this seriously before it's too late."

The project was supported by a LINAS (Leverhulme Interdisciplinary Network on Algorithmic Solutions) doctoral scholarship.