Drake and The Weeknd had a song go viral recently, and they didn’t have to do a thing. In fact, they didn’t sing at all. Artificial intelligence did everything.
The ominous track named Heart on My Sleeve was released by a user named “ghostwriter” and racked up millions of views across platforms. Despite being taken down just as fast as it goes up, it’s made a lot of noise in the music industry.
Universal Music Group (UMG) responded by condemning the use of technology to imitate the likeness of artists’ voices and music production (UMG claims it isn’t against the tech itself). But, it may be too late. AI is generating music, and UMG is scared.
Fans may have mixed opinions on this creation, but the music industry is scrambling. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is a turning point and we’re witnessing history. Just like Napster changed music distribution, this could change the standard for music creation. It’s quite possible Heart on My Sleeve is the first drop before the AI floodgate bursts open.
Why the sudden worry?
This isn’t the first time an AI track showed up online. There have been a lot of AI-produced covers (like “Kanye West” performing Hey There Delilah), to the point that Drake said it was the “last straw” when he encountered an AI-generated track of his voice performing Ice Spice’s Munch. However, those were just fun and games and most people weren’t getting fooled.
So what makes it different? The general consensus is Heart on My Sleeve is good.
Heart on My Sleeve isn’t the most polished track, but people who used file-sharing services like Napster are familiar with leaked music — and quality is about on par with that. Some trained ears would recognize that these aren’t truly Drake or The Weeknd’s vocals, but most people won’t listen too closely (assuming they’re unaware of AI’s involvement). So, by most accounts, this deepfake could have replaced the actual artists.
While ghostwriter hasn’t revealed which software was used to create the track, voice replication programs aren’t too hard to come by. Twitter user Roberto Nickson demonstrated that AI can use a trained model to clone the voice of a musician and apply it to original lyrics. Likely, ghostwriter used his own vocals with models of Drake and The Weeknd’s voices.
Can AI be stopped?
So, this is illegal — right?
When I first heard the song, despite my interest, it just felt wrong and seemed like it should be illegal. The truth is, it currently lives in the gray zone, and this is why UMG wants to act fast.
In most states, it’s illegal to imitate someone’s likeness without their permission. This includes their name, mannerisms, and physical or identity characteristics. What’s noticeably absent from laws: voice. At this time, there’s no legal precedent defining voice, and there hasn’t needed to be one until AI came around.
Words can be copyrighted, as can the beat of the song. But in the case of Heart on My Sleeve, there isn’t pre-existing guidance calling it illegal because there’s no regulation stating AI cannot learn from copyrighted materials.
There is one very important distinction to be made in this case. Ghostwriter never claimed the track used original vocals. In the TikTok release, the use of AI was clearly written on the video.
Had ghostwriter tried to pass the track off as an original Drake song, he’d certainly be infringing on Drake’s likeness. But he was open about the use of AI, and it protected him.
So is ghostwriter going to get in trouble? Probably not (though he did intentionally stay anonymous). TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, and other distribution platforms have the right to remove songs they disapprove of. So, social networks will try to pull AI-made songs they don’t want on their platforms —using AI to detect them — but this shouldn’t be viewed as a legal violation. The platforms want to take action because companies like UMG are upset.
What makes this like Napster?
Right now AI technology can be used to produce music way faster than laws can be created to regulate it. The ones that do exist are vague, and they certainly aren’t enough to deter people from experimenting with the technology.
In UMG’s statement, it framed the dilemma as human expression vs. digital frauds, but this may be an oversimplification of the issue. Drake had a lot of fans, but his recent output Search & Destroy hasn’t been reviewed too kindly. Some fans want to hear the music they wish Drake would make, and AI lets them turn it into a reality.
Once songs are created, there’s no telling how quickly they’ll spread. If Heart on My Sleeve is any indication, it will be really fast. Even if the quality is low, new tracks will circulate online. And just like the days of Napster’s peak popularity, an endless supply of songs could be distributed without the consent or knowledge of artists.
Record labels are scared for a reason. Even though Drake has a huge catalog of music, he’s just one man. Multiple machines can churn out deepfakes at an exponentially fast rate. And there is a market for this, especially when you look at the way young people discover music. Tracks often start in the background of a TikTok video before they become standalone successes. So if a song fits a video, it’ll get used — whether a human or robot made the vocals.
Will AI take over music?
There’s a lot of potential with AI and there are things that can help music, but other things that will hurt it. UMG has acknowledged this, as have producers like Young Guru, known for his work with Roc Nation. But the messaging from UMG comes across as very money-driven and designed to maintain its current model of music production.
Here’s the thing — just like Metallica talking about Napster — UMG has a point. The use of AI has serious potential to take opportunities and money away from artists. Heart on My Sleeve didn’t get popular because it was made by AI. It went viral because it used vocals modeled after Drake and The Weeknd, benefitting from the status the artists have built over many years.
It’s a major conflict. It won’t kill the music industry, but it’s certain to change it — at the least, regulate it. As Young Guru said, “Once the genie is out of the box you [can’t] put him back in.” People are just starting to see the power of AI on music, and it’s simultaneously scary and exciting. Most people can’t comprehend how AI works in theory, but when they hear fake Drake singing about his love of Justin Bieber, it becomes real — and the new reality is here.
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