DistroKid confirms song removals tied to UMG claims as artists question takedowns

DistroKid has confirmed that claims from Universal Music Group prompted it to remove recordings. Amanda Ferri, who leads artist services at DistroKid, described the affected catalog as small and said the company disputes the allegations behind UMG's lawsuit.

Musician McGwire says six of his songs disappeared without notification. He says the removals included a licensed Stevie Wonder cover and a recording challenged over an alleged sample of a song released two years later. Those accounts remain artist claims, rather than established findings about the recordings' rights.

UMG filed its lawsuit in Delaware federal court on September 15. It alleges copyright infringement and deceptive practices involving music distributed through DistroKid. Its complaint distinguishes disclosed AI music from material it alleges is misleadingly presented as human-created work.

DistroKid says it is working to reduce the disruption while preserving artists' ability to distribute music. Its statement does not give a restoration timetable or specify how many recordings were removed.