Unofficial 2026 World Cup anthems flood music streaming – 70% are tagged as AI on Deezer 

Hundreds of football anthems have been uploaded to Deezer in anticipation of the football world cup this year – a majority are detected and tagged as AI thanks to Deezer’s technology and transparent approach to AI-generated music

Paris, June 8, 2026 – Deezer, the global music experiences platform, has seen an influx of tracks and albums with titles related to the 2026 World Cup, leading up to this summer’s biggest sporting event. More than 270 tracks named “World Cup 2026” have been uploaded, and over 70% of these are labeled as generated with the use of AI. Similarly, there are over 150 songs named “FIFA World Cup 2026”, and over 65% of these are labeled as AI. 

“It’s never been easier to create music and upload it to streaming platforms, so it’s not surprising that a global sports event like the World Cup triggers people to try and take advantage of the moment”, Aurelien Herault, Chief Innovation Officer, Deezer. “However, since AI music is both tagged and removed from algorithmic recommendations when it’s detected on Deezer, the likelihood of any of these songs getting more than a few streams is very low. We also suspect that since Deezer has gone further than any other platform when it comes to transparency and reducing AI-related fraud and payment dilution, it’s now less attractive to upload AI slop on Deezer.”

Since the beginning of 2026, unofficial World Cup anthems have become an increasingly common phenomenon across the internet, with the viral French anthem “Imbattables” by AI music creator Crystalo, as one of the best known examples. The creator has accumulated millions of views across social media and music streaming platforms.

Deezer’s findings apply globally with very slight variations across certain countries. In Deezer’s biggest markets France and Brazil, there are also local tracks. There are, for example, over 70 songs listed in albums called “Coupe du Monde 2026”, of which 86% are detected as AI-generated. In Brazil there are over 180 songs published in albums called “Copa do Mundo 2026”, of which 71% are AI. 

Deezer is the first and only streaming platform to automatically detect and transparently label AI-generated music. Its technology is detecting more than 75,000 fully AI-generated tracks everyday, representing roughly 44% of all daily uploads. These tracks are excluded from algorithmic and editorial recommendations. 

Deezer has taken its approach in order to create maximum transparency for its users and to minimize negative impact for artists, including streaming fraud and payment dilution. While  AI-generated music represents only 1-3% of total streams, up to 85% are detected as streaming fraud, and are removed from royalty calculations and never paid for. 

In a 2025 survey conducted by Deezer with Ipsos across 9,000 respondents, 80% said AI music should be clearly labeled.

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ABOUT DEEZER 

Deezer is one of the world’s largest independent music experiences platforms, connecting fans with artists and creating ways for people to Live the music. The company provides access to a full-range catalog of high quality music, lossless HiFi audio and industry-defining features on a scalable platform available in 180+ countries. Founded in 2007 in Paris, Deezer is now a global company with over 600 people based in France, Germany, UK, Brazil and the US, all brought together by their passion for music, technology and innovation. By building strategic partnerships in key markets across Europe and the Americas, Deezer keeps delivering brand value and end-user engagement across a wide variety of industries, including telecommunications, media, audio hardware and e-retail. As an industry thought leader, Deezer was the first platform to introduce a new monetization model since the inception of music streaming, designed to better reward the artists, and the music that fans value the most. Deezer is listed on Euronext Paris (Ticker: DEEZR. ISIN: FR001400AYG6) and is also part of the Euronext Tech Leaders segment, dedicated to European high-growth tech companies, and its associated index. 

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