AI artist Xania Monet's album cover for "Unfolded".
When Billboard reported that AI-generated R&B artist Xania Monet signed a $5.2 million (US$3m) deal with record label Hallwood Media in September, two human R&B powerhouses were outraged.
“There is an AI R&B artist who just signed a multimillion-dollar deal, and has a top-five R&B album, and the person is doing none of the work,” singer-songwriter Kehlani said in a since-deleted TikTok video. “This is so beyond out of our control.”
Grammy-winning singer SZA, who has publicly opposed the use of AI, also criticised the deal on social media. In an Instagram Story, the star wrote: “[I don’t f*** with] this either why devalue our music ??? Something tells me they wouldn’t do this [with] another genre”.
Mississippi design studio owner and poet Talisha “Nikki” Jones used the AI music tool, Suno, to create Monet. The non-human artist reportedly racked up more than 17 million streams since its debut in July, reigniting debates on transparency, copyright, training data, appropriation, AI music royalties and its impact on artists.
This comes after AI band Velvet Sundown controversially gained popularity on Spotify in July, the same month Hallwood Media signed its first Suno-created artist, imOliver.
Dave Carter, a music industries associate professor at Massey University, said when it came to Monet’s multimillion-dollar deal, Hallwood Media was likely interested in the “demonstrated curatorial skill” of the human lyricist, Jones. Jones input her written poetry into Suno to build Monet.
“In this case, Talisha Jones has demonstrated an ability to write lyrics and pick sounds that have worked really well and have generated a bit of hype on the streaming services,” said Carter.
“That might be worth $3 million [USD] in terms of future earnings if they paired her with the right artist [as a topliner, for example].”
It’s not dissimilar to how popular music has been made in the past, Carter explained, citing the Brill Building “hit factory” of the 60s in New York where songwriters wrote material for performing artists.
And computer-generated work seeping into the mainstream soundscape is nothing new. In 1956, an American chemistry professor, Lejaren Hiller, debuted a concert recital composed by a computer. In the 1980s, composer David Cope worked with AI to create classical compositions that fooled classical music experts.
According to Carter, while AI music isn’t the issue, the more pressing concerns revolve around unlicensed training data - or AI picking up patterns from copyrighted material without permission from creators - and discoverability.
“Generative AI tools have become widely accessible, and an increasing amount of low-value ‘slop’ has crowded out the channels early career artists have used in the past to promote their music and grow their audience and reach,” said Carter.
Slop refers to low-effort material created by AI, usually designed to please algorithms.
“[Those artists are] competing for attention in that space with stuff that is created with no real work behind it, no real staying power, but can very, very quickly shunt out video content ... they’re very clickbait in nature and are grabbing audience attention.”
If AI has been trained by using an artist’s work in some capacity, Carter said that there is no clear or practical way for them to opt out, meaning it can’t be prevented.
Both Kehlani and SZA focused specifically on the way Monet presents herself as a black woman artist in R&B, a genre deeply rooted in black culture.
Similarly, Māori researchers and songwriters have raised concerns from both a data governance and cultural appropriation perspective, considering the Government has certain obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
“For Māori, data is a taonga that requires culturally grounded models of protection and care,” wrote the authors of the 2023 Māori Data Governance Model, which is used by the public sector today.
A 2024 report commissioned by music rights administrator APRA AMCOS stated that while AI provided opportunities for some Māori musicians, it also raised “ethical and cultural considerations in terms of reflecting Māori perspectives and respecting cultural values.
“In particular, AI’s historical reliance on limited data may overlook the nuances of Māori waiata (songs) and tikanga (protocols), raising issues of cultural appropriation.”
“The concern is ... more around what type of guardrails do we want our government to enact to protect our particular local industries,” said Carter.
He does not believe multimillion-dollar deals with AI artists will be common, although he noted that it is difficult to predict exactly what will happen in the industry.
Last Thursday, Spotify announced new measures to protect artists, rights holders and producers from the “bad actors” of AI, referring to slop techniques such as mass uploads, duplicates, SEO hacks and artificially short track abuse.
The streaming platform said it would introduce a new impersonation policy, adding that it has already removed 75 million “spammy” tracks over the past 12 months.
In a statement on its website, the company said: “At its best, AI is unlocking incredible new ways for artists to create music and for listeners to discover it. At its worst, AI can be used by bad actors and content farms to confuse or deceive listeners, push ‘slop’ into the ecosystem, and interfere with authentic artists working to build their careers.
“The future of the music industry is being written, and we believe that aggressively protecting against the worst parts of Gen AI is essential to enabling its potential for artists and producers.”
It said it also plans to add a music spam filter and help develop the new industry standard for AI disclosures in music credits.
Suno and its competitor, Udio, are currently facing a lawsuit by major US record labels that are members of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), including Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group. The RIAA alleges Suno and Udio have trained their AI to take copyrighted music without permission.
Varsha Anjali is a journalist in the lifestyle team at the Herald. Based in Auckland, she covers culture, travel and more.