A band known as The Velvet Sunset has had its tracks performed lots of of 1000’s of occasions on Spotify since showing a number of weeks in the past – with out anybody figuring out for certain what it’s.
The band has a verified web page on the music streaming platform, with greater than 850,000 month-to-month listeners.
Nevertheless, not one of the 4 named musicians within the band have given any interviews or seem to have particular person social media accounts, and there are not any information of any dwell performances.
It has prompted accusations that they and their music are synthetic intelligence (AI) generated – one thing the band denies on social media.
It didn’t reply to the BBC’s request for an interview.
Additional complicated the story, Rolling Stone US reported that the band’s spokesman had admitted The Velvet Sunset’s music had been generated utilizing an AI software known as Suno – just for the journal to report shortly afterwards that the spokesman was himself a hoax.
The person, who goes by the identify of Andrew Frelon, mentioned it was a deliberate plot to hoax the media.
A press release on the band’s Spotify web page says that the group has “no affiliation with this particular person, nor any proof confirming their identification or existence.”
An account on X which claims to be the band’s official channel, can also be faux, it added.
Professor Gina Neff, from the Minderoo Centre for Expertise and Democracy on the College of Cambridge, says it factors to an issue which impacts far more than only one band.
“Whether or not that is an AI band might not appear vital,” she advised me.
“However more and more, our collective grip on actuality appears shaky. The Velvet Sunset story performs into the fears we’ve of dropping management of AI and exhibits how vital defending on-line data is.”
The Velvet Sunset’s indie ballads, with guitar music and male vocals, is pretty simple, if bland, on the ear.
With lyrics akin to “eyes like movie in pale mild, goals stroll barefoot into the night time” and “ash and velvet, smoke and flame, calling out in freedom’s identify”, it might all feasibly be both AI-generated or penned by people.
Deezer, a rival music streaming platform, mentioned that its AI detector software had flagged the music as being “100% AI generated”.
Spotify didn’t reply to a request for remark.
CEO Daniel Ek has beforehand advised the BBC that he didn’t intend to ban AI-generated music from the platform however added that he didn’t agree with utilizing the tech to imitate actual artists.
Many within the inventive arts trade are deeply involved in regards to the affect of AI.
Lots of of musicians have protested about the usage of their content material within the coaching of AI instruments to create music.
Sir Elton John and Dua Lipa joined many members of the Home of Lords in preventing for the UK authorities to incorporate AI and copyright in a brand new set of legal guidelines concerning knowledge use and entry. Their marketing campaign was in the end unsuccessful.
The federal government says it’s finishing up a separate session about AI and copyright.
Ed Newton Rex, founding father of Pretty Skilled, which campaigns for AI corporations to respect creators’ rights, mentioned the questions across the The Velvet Sunset bore out musicians’ issues.
“That is precisely what artists have been frightened about, it is theft dressed up as competitors,” he mentioned.
“AI firms steal artists’ work to construct their merchandise, then flood the market with knock-offs, which means much less cash goes to human musicians.”
Sophie Jones, chief technique officer at BPI, mentioned it illustrated the necessity for presidency motion.
“This dialogue reinforces lots of the issues raised by the music trade and artist neighborhood in current months on the crucial problems with AI and music rights.
