Credit: Dazed
The technology’s ability to mimic human creativity has led to the rise of deceptive acts, such as the psych-rock “band” The Velvet Sundown, which accrued millions of streams before being exposed as an AI creation. This deception has caused a backlash from listeners who feel “uncomfortable and freaked out” upon discovering they were fooled, leading some to stop listening “in protest” against algorithmic promotion.
The crisis is exacerbated by copyright concerns. As high-profile AI singers like Xania Monet reportedly become the subject of multi-million dollar label bidding wars, the artists whose copyrighted work was used to train the AI models receive no compensation. This exploitation is under threat of being codified into law in the UK, where proposed changes would allow AI developers to train models on copyrighted material without the creator’s consent. Prominent musicians like Paul McCartney and Dua Lipa have criticized these plans, calling for the protection of creators’ basic rights.
Experts, such as Professor Tom Collins, theorize that some high-profile AI success stories may be “publicity stunts”orchestrated by labels, with stream numbers potentially inflated by bots. Regardless, the consensus among industry leaders and advocates is that mandatory transparency is required. Deezer has already adopted a full transparency model by tagging fully AI-generated music and excluding it from algorithmic promotion.
Ultimately, the challenge falls to consumers. As Professor Collins argues, music is fundamentally about a “human expressing something that is then perceived by another human.” To prevent a future dominated by safe, non-innovative background “muzak,” listeners must consciously resist the tidal wave of AI content and actively seek out and support the work of real, human artists.
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