Grimes, the techno artist who has long embraced AI, has invited her fans to create music with her voice as simulated by AI. In a recent tweet, she offered to split 50% of royalties on any successful AI-generated song that uses her voice, adding that she welcomes the open sourcing of art and an end to copyright.
However, some are skeptical of the rise of AI in music. Universal Music Group, for instance, moved swiftly to take down the AI-generated hit Heart on My Sleeve, which featured deepfakes of Drake and The Weeknd, from social media and music services like Spotify, Tidal, and Apple Music as the song started to climb the charts.
UMG argues that the use of generative AI using artists’ music breaches agreements and violates copyright law, and that preventing such uses is a fundamental legal and ethical responsibility of platforms. They believe that platforms need to be part of the solution, rather than supporting deep fakes and denying artists their due compensation.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, Grimes sees AI collaboration as an inevitable game changer, she has also expressed concerns that AI will outpace human musicians and make them obsolete. It remains to be seen how AI-generated music will affect the future of the music industry and the role of human creativity in it.
