A new song featuring The Weeknd and Drake, “Heart On My Sleeve,” went viral. At the time of writing, it has gained over 250,000 Spotify streams and 10 million TikTok views. Believe it or not, the most shocking part was these artists had nothing to do with the song. An artist named “Ghostwriter” generated the song using artificial intelligence!
The two human artists haven’t responded to the song at the time of writing. However, Drake commented on another AI-generated song that uses his voice, “Munch” by Ice Spice. He noticed it and posted on Instagram, “This is the final straw AI.” Shortly after, digital service providers have been deleting the track.
“Heart On My Sleeve” first disappeared on Apple Music and Tidal, then it eventually became invisible in Spotify searches. However, you can still listen to it on YouTube. At the time of writing, it has over 410,000 views on the video-sharing platform.
How did the world respond to “Heart On My Sleeve”?
Photo Credit: knowyourmeme.com
Search the “Heart On My Sleeve” AI song on YouTube, and you will see a strange figure on the thumbnail. It looks like someone’s head is covered by a sheet wearing sunglasses.
That is the anonymous artist Ghostwriter who created the viral song. He claims he was a “ghostwriter for years and got paid close to nothing just for major labels to profit.”
He posted the song on YouTube on April 16 and left a comment saying, “This is just the beginning.” In response, numerous YouTube viewers also commented on the music video.
One said, “This would literally go No. 1 on the charts if Drake released it.” Another stated, “If you told me this was just an unreleased song, I’d believe it.”
Someone said, “I wish I could be a fly on the wall when Drake himself first hears this.” Others acknowledged how talented Ghostwriter is despite using AI to produce “Heart On My Sleeve.”
A guy said, “You still need to have the flow [and] melody to make a catchy song like this, whoever you are, bro, you talented [expletive].” Another stated, “What a time to be alive.”
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However, recording studios disliked the recent AI music trend. Specifically, Universal Music Group shared a statement to Variety after “Heart On My Sleeve” went viral.
It revealed it was already using AI for its products and services. However, UMG said music using AI recreations of their artists is a violation of copyright law.
That is why it asks people who they want to support. Are they for the human artists who represent human creative expression? Or will they side with deep fakes that deny artists their due compensation?
How is AI changing the music industry?
Photo Credit: euronews.com
Ghostwriter is not the only one applying artificial intelligence to music like “Heart On My Sleeve.” For example, Google has been working on Music LM.
It is an AI tool that creates songs from text prompts. For example, it could create a hybrid of Classical and K-Pop with a “spacey, otherworldly” tune.
It can also create melodies based on humming, whistling, and a painting description. Moreover, its story mode can combine several descriptions to produce an album or a DJ set.
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However, it has numerous flaws. For example, its songs may sound weird or incomprehensible. Also, it follows patterns rigidly, causing its songs to sound more repetitive than manmade tunes.
RadioGPT is another AI tool that could change how we listen to music. It generates radio shows that play music, report news, and discuss the weather.
At the time of writing, Alpha Media in the US and Rogers Sports & Media in Canada are testing the tool. Contrary to popular belief, its developers will not use it to replace radio stations.
Instead, they could use the tool to occupy timeslots that nobody could. As a result, it could improve how radio stations operate. However, we may need to wait months or years before it becomes publicly available.
Conclusion
The “Heart On My Sleeve” AI song went viral after sounding like The Weeknd and Drake. In response, various digital service providers removed the track.
However, we should expect similar songs to go viral online. As Jay-Z’s longtime engineer, Young Guru said, “You can’t stop technology.” He added, “Once the genie is out of the box, you can put him back in.”
Fortunately, you can adapt to it so that it works for you. Even better, you can start by learning more about artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and more at Inquirer Tech.