An AI-Generated Indie Rock Band Confesses to Being a Digital Project
An indie rock band known as Velvet Sundown, boasting over a million monthly listeners on Spotify, has finally come clean about its true identity as an AI-generated music project. The revelation comes after days of speculation surrounding the authenticity of the group.
Named after Lou Reed’s iconic band The Velvet Underground, Velvet Sundown quickly gained viral fame, amassing hundreds of thousands of listens and sparking intense online debates about its legitimacy. However, an updated Spotify profile, accessed by AFP on Tuesday, confessed that the group is actually an “ongoing artistic provocation.”
The profile statement further revealed, “All characters, stories, music, voices, and lyrics are original creations generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools employed as creative instruments.”
Recent social media profiles featuring seemingly fabricated images of the band have further fueled speculation about Velvet Sundown’s origins, offering conflicting information to the public.
The Dangers of AI-Generated Content
Experts have long cautioned about the risks associated with AI-generated images, videos, and music blurring the lines between reality and fiction. A major study conducted by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) in December highlighted the potential threat of AI-generated music to artists’ incomes, predicting a decline of over 20 percent in the next four years as the market for AI-composed music expands.
While Spotify declined to comment directly on Velvet Sundown, the platform’s spokesperson, Geraldine Igou, emphasized that they do not prioritize or financially benefit from music created using AI tools. Igou clarified, “All tracks are created, owned, and uploaded by licensed third parties.”
Deezer, a rival music streaming service, has taken a proactive approach by displaying a warning for “AI-generated content” for Velvet Sundown, alerting users to the possibility of tracks being created using artificial intelligence. The platform has implemented an AI-music detection tool capable of identifying songs generated using popular software models like Suno and Udio.
The Proliferation of AI in Music and Beyond
Deezer reported in April that it receives more than 20,000 fully AI-generated tracks daily, constituting 18 percent of all uploaded contentâan increase from the previously reported 10 percent in January. This surge in AI-generated content underscores the growing influence of artificial intelligence in the music industry.
Recent reports also revealed instances of AI technology being misused, such as an imposter impersonating US Secretary of State Marco Rubio using AI-generated voice and text messages to deceive high-level officials and foreign ministers.
As the boundaries between real and artificial continue to blur, the ethical implications of AI-generated content remain a pressing concern for creators, platforms, and consumers alike.
© Agence France-Presse
