The weaponisation of algorithmic bots in the music industry - market manipulation and policy recommendations

Through using a comparative jurisprudential analysis, the research identifies gaps in UK legislation and proposes targeted reforms. These include strengthening legislative terminology of the several types of bots, clarifying liabilities and imposing more responsibility and accountability on online platforms to develop more effective safeguards - addressing the identified market vulnerabilities. <br><br>The research further contributes by anticipating the trajectory of bot technologies, highlighting their integration with advanced AI technologies such as deepfakes and large language models.

By mapping this trajectory, this thesis not only highlights the urgent need for UK policy reform but provides a foundation for future research on the manipulation of online environments using AI technologies and effective private and public regulatory responses. <br><br>Overall, the main contribution of this thesis is shedding light on an area that has been overlooked in the legal, technological and music field for too long.

It provides actionable policy reformations, arguing that without proactive and targeted reform, bots will increasingly destabilise cross-sector markets and grant automated architects the ability to manipulate broader economic and societal values.<br>