If you heard Drake and The Weeknd’s new song last weekend on social media, you might be surprised to learn that the entire song, including the vocals, was AI-generated.
The song, titled Heart On My Sleeve, was created by TikTok user Ghostwriter977 using AI and sound clips from the artists’ voices.
Heart on My Sleeve has racked up over 8 million views on Ghostwriter977’s TikTok account alone, and replays on other sites have also racked up millions of views. For example, the Twitter post that plays the song has been viewed 18.9 million times.
A pirate track on Spotify and Apple Music
The duo features the AI-generated vocals of Drake and The Weeknd over a trap beat. The song sounds like a real collaboration between the artists – and a good collaboration at that.
The song is so popular that it has been shared on music streaming platforms, such as Spotify and Apple Music, where it has been listened to hundreds of thousands of times.
However, on Monday the song was removed from all music streaming platforms, including YouTube, due to copyright infringement claims.
Universal Music Group Complaints
The complaints are said to come from Universal Music Group (UMG), the record company with which The Weeknd signed. Last week, the record company asked streaming platforms to block AI-generated music from their copyrighted songs, according to emails seen by the Financial Times.
If you haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet, don’t worry. Fans are so passionate about the song that they have taken it upon themselves to upload and repost it on TikTok, YouTube and other platforms.
For example, a user who reposted the song to YouTube – where it received 12,000 views in 12 hours.
“I was a ghostwriter for years and got paid next to nothing for the big record labels to profit from”
Ghostwriter977 doesn’t seem intimidated either, having TikTok videos of the song still on his account and a link in his bio where fans can sign up to have the song sent to them if it’s banned.
In one of his videos, Ghostwriter977 said, “I was a ghostwriter for years and got paid next to nothing for the big record labels to profit from. The future is here.”
The debate over allowing AI-generated music will be interesting to follow. Some people, like Ghostwriter977, believe it could democratize music, while others, like record labels, have a lot to lose if it gains momentum.
Source: “ZDNet.com”