The Rise of AI-Generated Music and the Legal Implications of Deepfakes

An AI-generated song featuring the voices of Drake and The Weeknd, titled “Heart On My Sleeve”, has amassed over 250,000 Spotify streams and 10 million views on TikTok, despite the two artists having no involvement in its creation. The artist behind the track, known as "ghostwriter", has not yet responded to TechCrunch's request for comment. However, Drake himself recently commented on the rise of deepfake songs and AI-generated music, stating that "this is the final straw AI". Other major artists, including Jay-Z and Eminem, have also taken issue with the proliferation of AI-generated deepfake music that rips off their voices.

The legal implications of generative AI and deepfake music remain unclear, with copyright law currently lacking specific guidelines. However, UMG has recently taken steps to prevent AI companies from using its music to train their models, citing a "moral and commercial responsibility to our artists". As the technology advances and more artists become concerned about the use of their intellectual property, initiatives like Spawning AI's "Have I Been Trained" may become increasingly important to help bring control back to creators.