AI Music and Identity Theft: The Emily Portman Case and the Future of Voice Leasing
The rise of AI-generated music is reshaping the industry, but it also brings ethical, legal, and business challenges. A striking case recently exposed the darker side of this revolution.
The Emily Portman Incident
In mid-2025, folk singer Emily Portman discovered an entirely AI-generated album—Orca—released under her name on streaming platforms like Spotify. She had never recorded it, nor given permission.
Portman described the sound as “vacuous and pristine,” lamenting:
“I’ll never be able to sing that perfectly in tune. But I don’t want to. I’m human.”
It took Spotify three weeks to correct her artist page, during which listeners were deceived into thinking the music was hers. (MusicRadar)
This case illustrates how streaming platforms are vulnerable to identity theft through AI, leaving artists exposed.
Ethical Implications
Releasing music under someone else’s name without consent is not just a technical experiment—it’s a violation of intellectual rights. It misleads audiences, siphons revenue, and erodes trust between artists and listeners.
Ethically, the act undermines the very foundation of creative ownership. It goes against the artist’s right to identity, expression, and livelihood. In short: yes, it definitely violates intellectual rights.
Leasing Your Voice: A New Income Stream
While exploitation is a danger, there is also an opportunity. Artists today can legitimately license their voices to AI music services. Instead of being impersonated, singers could lease their voice as an asset.
For example:
- A folk singer could train an AI model with 200 hours of recorded material.
- They could then lease API calls to producers, each generating a custom vocal track for a fee.
- This way, the artist retains ownership and earns royalties—without needing to sing every take.
Business Possibilities: A Numbers Example
Imagine training your own AI vocal model:
- Training cost: $10,000 (studio time, labeling, compute).
- Hosting + API infrastructure: $1,000/month.
- If you lease access at $0.50 per 1,000 seconds of generated vocals:
This covers hosting and training in under a year—and creates a scalable digital income stream.
Conclusion
The Emily Portman case proves that AI can exploit artists if left unchecked. But it also shows a path forward: musicians can embrace AI on their own terms, by licensing their voices and creating models that work for them, not against them.
This balance—between protection and opportunity—may define the next decade of the music industry.
