A song titled “Heart On My Sleeve” featuring the collaboration of Drake and The Weeknd has caused a stir in the music industry – but neither of the two talented musicians had a hand in creating it. Instead, the track was generated using artificial intelligence (AI) by an artist known only as ‘ghostwriter.’ The song has been a success, with over 250,000 streams on Spotify and 10 million views on TikTok.
Drake’s response to AI-generated artwork that mimicked his voice has quickly become a famous phrase; “This is the final straw AI”. He wasn’t the first musician to have issues with the growing trend of AI-fluenced music, though. Jay-Z’s agency, Roc Nation, submitted copyright strikes against YouTube uploads of AI-generated Jay-Z deepfakes, only for the videos to be reinstated. The same thing happened recently to Eminem; UMG, the company that represents both leading musical acts, issued copyright strikes on YouTube videos showing AI-generated Eminem rapping about cats.
Spotify and Ghostwriter were not able to provide comments to TechCrunch during the time of the article. However, copyright laws are not yet advanced enough to provide specific rulings for generative AI. Generally, transformative parody is allowed, although this is open to subjective interpretation and there is limited case law to set an example.
In response, UMG has taken steps to shut down any AI-generated music that replicates its artists. A representative from UMG made a statement to address its moral and commercial responsibility to protect the rights of its artists, by preventing the unauthorized using of their music and the improper use of content by streaming platforms.
Although this is a challenge, Mat Dryhurst and Holly Herndon have worked to give back control to artists under the initiative of Spawning AI. One of their projects, called “Have I Been Trained” allows users to search for their artwork and see if it has been used without their consent to train AI algorithms.
For example, Greg Rutkowski, a living illustrator that crafted detailed, high fantasy artwork for franchises like “Dungeons & Dragons,” was one of Stable Diffusion’s most popular search terms when the platform was launched. Unfortunately, removing one’s intellectual property from AI models can be rather difficult. Rutkowski never consented for his artwork to be used to train an AI algorithm, and he may not have the same control over his work now.
At the moment, AI-generated songs featuring Drake and The Weeknd are still available on streaming platforms. These songs might eventually be removed, though; as copyright laws become more advanced, the legal code may eventually provide better protection for artists.
