A new song that imitated Canadian superstars Drake and The Weeknd using AI software has been taken down from streaming services after garnering millions of listens and igniting discussion about the new technology.
Prior to being requested to be removed by Universal Music Group (UMG), who publishes both singers through its Republic Records subsidiary and released “Heart On My Sleeve” last Friday, the song was temporarily available on services including Spotify and Apple Music.
In the song, artificial intelligence (AI) simulates the voices of the two musicians as they trade lines about the pop singer and actor Selena Gomez, who dated The Weeknd at one point.
The track’s creator, who goes by the handle @ghostwriter, wrote on Twitter that he used AI to make a Drake song feat. He claims to have used software that was trained on their voices to create it. The Weeknd
He said on TikTok, This is just the start.
A third of the world’s music market is controlled by Universal Music Group, which is become more and more concerned about AIs utilizing its tunes to create music that sounds like that of well-known musicians.
The company said in an email to AFP that training AI software without the consent of artists raises the issue of which side of history all players in the music ecosystem want to be on: the side of artists, fans, and human creative expression, or on the side of deep fakes, fraud, and depriving artists of their just compensation.
According to emails seen by the Financial Times, UMG wrote to streaming providers like Spotify and Apple in March to request that they prevent AI systems from extracting melodies and lyrics from their copyrighted music.
UMG said AFP on Tuesday that it was encouraged by the participation of its partners on these challenges because they recognize they need to be part of the solution. This comes as streaming platforms move rapidly to remove the most recent viral song.
These examples show why platforms have a fundamental moral and legal obligation to forbid the exploitation of artists through the use of their services, the statement continued.
In the music industry, there is disagreement about the usage of AI, with some criticizing copyright violations and others admiring its abilities.
The rapper Eminem’s vocal was recently added to a song by David Guetta using artificial intelligence for a live performance. But the French producer stated he wouldn’t put it out on the market.
In an interview, Guetta related artificial intelligence (AI) to instruments like the electric guitar, bass synthesizer, drum machine, and sampler that sparked musical revolutions like rock ‘n’ roll and hip hop.
