Spotify reported that a third party had scraped parts of its music catalogue after a pirate activist group claimed it had released metadata and audio files linked to hundreds of millions of tracks.
The streaming company said an investigation found that unauthorised users accessed public metadata and used illicit methods to bypass digital rights management controls to obtain some audio files.
Spotify said it had disabled the accounts involved and introduced additional safeguards.
The claims were made by a group calling itself Anna’s Archive, which runs an open source search engine known for indexing pirated books and academic texts.
In a blog post, the group said it had backed up Spotify’s music catalogue and released metadata covering 256 million tracks and 86 million audio files.
The group said the data spans music uploaded to Spotify between 2007 and 2025 and represents about 99.6 percent of listens on the platform.
Spotify, which hosts more than 100 million tracks and has over 700 million users globally, said the material does not represent its full inventory.
The company added that it has no indication that private user data was compromised, saying the only user related information involved was public playlists.
The group said the files total just under 300 terabytes and would be distributed via peer to peer file sharing networks.
It described the release as a preservation effort aimed at safeguarding cultural material.
Spotify said it does not believe the audio files have been widely released so far and said it is actively monitoring the situation.
The company said it is working with industry partners to protect artists and rights holders.
Industry observers said the apparent scraping could raise concerns beyond piracy.
Yoav Zimmerman, chief executive of intellectual property monitoring firm Third Chair, said the data could be attractive to artificial intelligence companies seeking to train music models.
Others echoed those concerns, warning that training AI systems on copyrighted material without permission remains common despite legal risks.
Campaigners have called on governments to require AI developers to disclose training data sources.
Copyright disputes between artists and technology companies have intensified as generative AI tools expand. In the UK, artists have criticised proposals that could allow AI firms to use copyrighted material unless rights holders explicitly opt out.
The government has said it will publish updated policy proposals on AI and copyright next year.
Spotify said it remains committed to protecting creators and opposing piracy and that it has strengthened defences against similar attacks.
