Canadian producer and singer Claire Boucher, better known by her stage name Grimes, recently announced that she is willing to extend a generous offer to any AI-generated music that features her voice – a 50-50 split in royalty earnings. This generous offer is incumbent on any AI-generated song with her voice being “successful”.
The concept of generative AI having a disruptive effect on the music industry is open to speculation and Grimes appears to be embracing the potential of this technology. A former lover and business partner of technology mogul Elon Musk, Grimes also suggested allowing people to use her voice without penalty.Â
For Grimes, her willingness to share a 50-50 split in royalties is the same deal she would offer any other artist collaboration, regardless of whether it was with a human or with a robotic AI. While it is not yet clear how someone might use music from Grimes’ past albums that are under the ownership of a record label, such as 4AD, the latter does not appear to be deterring Grimes from her generosity with AI-generated music.
Google has been actively developing tools for creating music through AI on the basis of text descriptions, as has recently been demonstrated with a viral AI-generated track featuring vocals from Drake and The Weeknd. However, Grimes is not stopping at only music – she claims that a recent brain-computer interface experiment afforded her the opportunity of controlling her computer mouse with her mind.
Grimes is evidently excited to explore the possibilities of AI, and keen to see what potential a collaboration between her and computer-generated music can bring. For now though, her invitation to use her voice without any legal bindings stands, evidenced by her generous offer of a 50-50 split in royalties.
The record label 4AD is owned by Beggars Group. It was under 4AD that Grimes released her acclaimed album “Visions”, which was met with immense critical acclaim. 4AD is particularly renowned for its commitment to cutting edge artists who, like Grimes, explore and embrace the current music industry.
Claire Boucher, also known as Grimes, is a Canadian singer and producer who rose to critical acclaim in the early 2010s for her musical innovation and genre-bending blend of music. Her expansive and diverse discography continues to be appreciated in critical circles, and her willingness to experiment with new technology both in her music and in her personal life has earned her widespread and well-deserved admiration.
