AI-generated songs are present across several platforms. For someone who has no idea about playing an instrument or composing songs, it’s now possible with the help of AI. Would you believe that an AI-created song topped a Billboard chart?
In a surprising turn of events, “Walk My Walk” became the number 1 song on the charts. As for the real musicians, this is a questionable feat that needs attention and discussion.
AI Artist Breaking Rust Takes the Spotlight
The song was released by Breaking Rust, an entirely AI-created fictional creation. For an artist that is anything but human, Breaking Rust has made quite a mark for itself in a short time. Its debut track “Livin’ On Borrowed Time” reached as high as number five on the very same chart, and “Walk My Walk” swiftly replaced it at the summit.
According to Billboard, the Breaking Rust project, credited to songwriter Aubierre Rivaldo Taylor, generated 1.6 million official U.S. streams by early November. Yet little is known about Taylor, who may also be an AI creation.
Do Music Fans Love the AI-Produced Songs?
Digital Trends discovered that the Instagram account of Breaking Rust has already gained a following of 36,000 followers by showcasing AI-generated music videos. Interestingly, the profile does not reveal the artificial intelligence origin, making the boundaries between real and artificial artistry rather blurry.
Some people praised the AI musician for its raspy voice. Others said that they could not distinguish the voice from a real person. The AI-generated persona is seemingly touching the emotions of listeners despite its artificiality.
How Would This Affect Human Musicians and Music Fans
Breaking Rust’s success could appear as bad news for human musicians. Many professionals spend years perfecting their craft, only to see AI-generated tracks, possibly trained on their work, enter the market. Fans are going to have to grapple with the ethics and emotions of listening to more AI-created music, with different values placed on whether content is made by a living artist or not.
Music streaming services, such as Spotify and Amazon Music, are still developing policies to handle AI-generated tracks. If carefully curated, AI content might overwhelm the feeds, possibly eroding trust in the services.
Unfortunately, the surge of AI songs won’t be stopped at any moment. The Velvet Sundown, for instance, is an indie rock band that already boasts over 200,000 monthly listeners. Their top hit, “Dust on the Wind,” had over 3.5 million streams. Surprisingly, the artist and the songs are both AI-generated.
While Spotify is a famous music streaming platform, some people think that the company is not thinking properly when it comes to AI songs. Back in July, it was slammed for posting AI songs under the names of the dead artists.
Originally published on Tech Times
