'70s Rock Icon Speaks Out Against Scammers: 'I Have Not Released These Songs'
- - '70s Rock Icon Speaks Out Against Scammers: 'I Have Not Released These Songs'
Jacqueline Burt CoteDecember 9, 2025 at 11:45 PM
0
Photo by Richard E. Aaron on Getty Images
Yet another famous musician has been targeted by an impersonation scam, and he's determined to set the record straight.
In a Facebook post this week, the multi-talented singer-songwriter, producer and music engineer Alan Parsons — who worked on such legendary albums as Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and the Beatles' Abbey Road — spoke out against the "unscrupulous scammers" who've been posting music online while pretending to be him.
"They’ve been gathering up streams, attention, and possibly even invitations to tea under my name…These blatant infringements have nothing whatsoever to do with me," the 76-year-old wrote.
"Let me be crystal clear — I have not released these songs, authorized these songs, hummed these songs, or even accidentally sat on a keyboard and come up with anything resembling these songs," Parsons continued.
"What a strange time we live in, when an imposter can write a tune, or have a toaster write it for him, slap my name on it as the artist, and then have a faceless algorithm give it life. While I admire their efficiency, I do find it rather disappointing that scammers are now turning their robotic identities against musicians everywhere," he added.
Parsons went on to point out that "this sort of thing is happening to a great many artists these days, and the corporate entities that run these online streaming and digital distribution services seem to just be turning a blind eye."
"This tomfoolery doesn’t just confuse listeners, it dilutes the talent of those artists, muddles their identity, and chips away at the integrity that takes years, or in my case, decades, to build," he argued, adding, "I spent most of my life finding my voice in the music industry, and I’d like to keep it human, thank you very much."
Parsons encouraged fans to "double-check" their music sources and to make sure they're supporting "real, walking, talking, crumpet-eating artists."
"We are still here. Slightly wrinkled, perhaps, but gloriously HUMAN," he quipped.
"I’m not angry, I save that for people who microwave fish at work, I’m just…spectacularly unimpressed," he wrote, concluding, "And my message to the scammers responsible for this outrageous scandal…I do hope your next software update installs a conscience."
Spotify removed 75 million 'spammy' songs due to music impersonation scams
As Parsons warned, artist impersonations are on the rise. As Louder reported, other recent victims include Toto, Yes, Architects, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Uncle Tupelo, and even dead musicians like country stars Blaze Foley and Guy Clark.
Scammers upload their own music, which is often AI-generated and "low-quality" to streaming platforms under the name of an already existing musician or tag famous artists as collaborators without getting their clearance first.
These scams are so prevalent that earlier this year, Spotify announced that it had removed 75 million "spammy" songs from the platform in recent months and has since launched a tool that allows artists to flag imposter songs before they go live.
Related: This Singer-Songwriter Didn't Get Credit for Pink Floyd's 'Cosmic Masterpiece' Until 30 Years Later
This story was originally published by Parade on Dec 9, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
