Explanation

 

Thousands of artists worldwide

– including U2, Santana and many others – have had their digital music rights, copyrights, and streaming revenues systematically revoked.

This affects not only independent artists, but also major international labels such as Sony Music, Universal, Warner und Island as well as television broadcasters and media companies. The origins of this massive revocation of rights lie, among other things, in the compromised infrastructure of a global music publishing service provider and a security vulnerability in YouTube's ContentID System, which we will cover in a separate article due to its magnitude and importance for artists (especially those with an OAC).

RECOGNATION UK

The original account was cloned – a social engineering technique in which the new attacker account appears as Recognation. (with a period at the end). A classic case of account takeover.

This is most likely a reference to the Recognise The Music project, which aims to capture live performances in clubs. This project was initiated by the UK Industry Agreement on Music Streaming Metadata, an industry-wide agreement to standardize streaming metadata. Because Unchained Music cooperates with these organizations, it appears that the account takeover and associated manipulation are taking place as part of a larger network. These activities raise important questions about the integrity and transparency of metadata management, particularly with regard to the impact on independent artists and rights holders.

Other well-known organizations include SAMRO, Southern African Music Rights Organisation, but the real culprit is

Copyright Control, a system exploited by Unchained Music

that renders creators invisible after their music has been copied and republished.

Important

Genuine music publishing service providers never appear in public metadata. The names displayed there are the result of deliberate manipulation.

See screenshots: Publisher and collecting society manipulated

Checklist

 

Unchained Music uses automated processes

to overwrite or mask parts of the metadata structure without the creator's immediate notice. The worst disguise:

Copyright Control

– a term that sounds legitimate, but in practice means a waiver of rights.

Here's an overview of the fields typically overwritten or manipulated by Unchained Music (or via content aggregators):

 

Copyright ©

Replaced by Copyright Control, Content Control , Recognation., SAMRO, or something similar
– that means - You're out!

ISRC and UPC Codes

The old code is deleted or replaced with a new one. Your streams no longer count.

Publisher or Publishing Rights

Copyright Control replaces you. Your music publisher becomes invisible.

Artist Name

The artist name often remains, but is no longer linked to your profile (no ownership).

Primary Artist and Lead Artist

Demoted to Associated Performer (no longer a legal entity, only a credited one).

Label/Imprint

Changed to an aggregator label distribution service, content rights, etc.) or a placeholder.

Sound Recording Owner ℗

You are removed. The new entity appears with ℗ Copyright Control.

WAV or MP3 Metadata

Often completely recreated on rereleases – original data deleted.

 

Warning Signs for Affected Artists

Your song is listed twice on Spotify or Apple once under your name, once under someone else's management.

Your track is no longer attributed to you in YouTube ContentID.

You see your name – but no ©, no Link, no revenue. Your song is no longer eligible, because an aggregator like Copyright Control takes precedence.

 

Instant Check

Open Deezer or Spotify → Right-click on your song → Song Credits

Search for: Copyright: Copyright Control

Search for something that isn't you!

Open YouTube Studio → Copyright → Has ContentID replaced you?

Very important: Check if your song is correctly listed as a single or album?

Ask your distributor: Which ISRC and UPC are active?

In the file's metadata (WAV or MP3): Are your original entries still present?

Extinction

 

The Digital Genocide of Artist Identities

What is happening right now is no accident. It is a targeted, algorithmically controlled process of disappearance – a digital genocide of artist profiles, rights, and cultural identity.

Step by step

Original songs are removed or replaced
Artist names are deleted from metadata
IDs are decoupled, rights structures are rewritten
Accounts are devalued, revenue is redirected

The Goal

The originals are quietly disappearing – and being replaced.
What remains is a fragment with an Associated Performer, perhaps a profile picture, but no more rights.
No income. No visibility.

Example

One of our songs – deleted live
In the following screenshot log, we show how one of our original songs was deleted live – initially live, then deprioritized, and finally replaced by a clone.

This isn't just happening to us

We document similar cases with artists like U2, Santana, etc. – and with thousands of indie artists worldwide.
Everything is documented. Everything is verifiable.

Why this is so dangerous

This type of attack doesn't destroy infrastructure.
It destroys trust, identities, and rights.
It is digital erasure through intentional system failure—not through war, but through metadata manipulation.

Important

 

List of cloned songs

This list is constantly changing. It contains stolen music with fake song and artist names. The artist name of the channel in question is also fake.
Listen to the songs. Is your song there, or do you recognize one?
Immediately report it to YouTube for copyright infringement or contact the real artist.

Only when YouTube receives enough reports will they stop the scammers.

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvQvdUrz9iijm-5F-V_TV7A
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvQvdUrz9iijm-5F-V_TV7A <-- Cloned Account

 

Important

Especially if you use Unchained Music.

Make sure the IDs from

Spotify and Apple

behind your name have not disappeared.

Note

 

Important note regarding your metadata

What is also visible in the images below concerns a subtle but crucial detail:

 

Associated Performer

If in the metadata of your own songs only this term appears, then you have been systematically removed from the rights information.

Associated Performer is purely a cosmetic entry – a digital thank-you, comparable to a mention in a booklet.
It has no legal function. Even if your artist name appears there: This is no longer proof that you are registered as the author.

Instead, check:

Is there still a © (Copyright) with your name or label? Or does it say Copyright Control – the term that Unchained Music and others uses to gain full control over your rights and earnings?

What happens next?

Once you have been removed from the publishing and copyright data.

Your Spotify/Apple ID may have been deleted or uncoupled

You no longer appear in DSP statistics You lose your matching in ContentID – and thus your streams and rights.

The next step of manipulation:

Our songs have been copied (cloned).
Re-released with altered metadata and new ISRC as album releases.
This causes our originals to appear twice in many stores – once legit, once as a fake under someone else’s control.

This not only leads to confusion but also automatic de-prioritization in the algorithm (Double-Entry Detection) – our version is systematically suppressed.

Everything can still be fixed – but not for long. Every artist should act now:

✅ Secure your own metadata
✅ Check copyright
✅ Request manual verification of rights from DSPs
✅ And: Take screenshots before digital traces vanish
✅ Note all ISRC codes

 

A funny dialogue to explain all this in more detail
download transcript

Solution

 

And unfortunately, that's not all

More evidence is on the way and is already being distributed by us on new servers and
it is even more shocking than everything shown so far.

 

NOW COMES THE GOOD PART!

YOU DEFINITELY WANT YOUR MONEY AND YOUR TITLES BACK..!

 

We are currently in the process of establishing our non-profit foundation

and

until we are ready:

 

We have built a huge tool for you - completely free

An automated verification system that lets you check if your song rights have been secretly overwritten, cloned, or deleted.
The tool scans publicly available metadata on platforms such as Spotify, Deezer, YouTube, and many more worldwide and shows:

👉 Who currently controls your music

👉 Whether you are listed in ContentID or as an Associated Performer

👉 Whether a “Copyright Control” clone has replaced your ©

👉 Whether your ISRC or UPC has been altered

👉 Searches for videos containing your music

…and much more

Despite months of submitting detailed copyright claims and evidence to YouTube, we repeatedly receive only generic questions in response — and after painstaking clarifications, communication simply ceases.
Worse yet, all copyright complaints are routinely removed from our Official Artist Channels’ copyright tabs, leaving us powerless.

And since the response from YouTube and Spotify hasn't been exactly stellar,
we've added some extra verifications specifically for their platform.

Don't miss our next statements, where we'll talk exclusively about these DSPs in great detail.

First Beta Testers Registration starting Monday.

Since this tool could also be misused in a counterproductive way, there are a few initial rules and tests to verify you as a real artist.
Apply as a beta tester at piedpiper.IOYA.tech - Starting Monday 25th August

 

And this is one of the automatic “alert” features of our lovely FREE TOOL:

If we ever again detect UPCs linked to this wonderful ‘trusted partner’ Unchained Music — whether in our own catalog or that of other artists
— we will, of course, exercise our press freedom once more, loudly and publicly, to politely but very clearly ask:
Why is an allegedly reputable DSP still knowingly working with a company that has been publicly identified as fraudulent for months?

 

And what will become of us poor artists? Don't they say they want to support us?

Because, quite obviously, these platforms seem to have a soft spot for keeping the ‘best’ partners on board.
Even when those ‘partners’ are actively sabotaging the business (OK, not the DSP’s business).

And for indie artists who’ve been hit especially hard

or just need help with DSPs or your OAC

Our LEGAL DEPARTMENT is also available FREE of charge.