AI-made Song Reaches The Top Of The US Song Chart, The Danger Signal Of The New Music Era?

Illustration of AI-made music (Ist)

JAKARTA - A song entirely produced by artificial intelligence (AI) has surprisingly captured the top position of the US Billboard single chart.

This phenomenon is a sign that the debate about the role of AI is no longer just a discourse, but a reality that is now in control on the ladder of popularity.

Meanwhile, the song in question is 'Walk My Walk', which was released by an AI artist named Breaking Rust. This song is perched at the top of the sales chart for the Country Digital Songs Billboard.

This achievement is instantaneous, achieved after the song earned more than three million streams on Spotify in less than a month.

Not only that, Walk My Walk also dominates Spotify's 50 Spotify chart in the US showing widespread appeal among digital listeners.

Another Rust Breaking song, 'Livin' on Borrowed Time', also managed to break through fifth on a similar chart, with four million streams on the platform.

However, the creator's identity behind Breaking Rust is still a mystery, although the official TikTok page has garnered nearly 200,000 followers, with the song 'Walk My Walk' being used on more than 150,000 videos on the platform.

Meanwhile, news about artists created by AI who are able to produce fantastic streaming figures is now increasingly heard 'marking a quick shift in the global music landscape.

Previously, the band, generated by AI under the name The Velvet Sundown, was widely discussed after gathering about 400,000 monthly listeners on Spotify even though they had only existed for less than a month.

Meanwhile, another AI-generated artist, Xania Monet, is also in the spotlight after signing a multimillion-dollar record contract and becoming the first AI artist to enter the US Billboard rankings.

The appearance of AI-based artists and songs is not without resistance. The backlash came from the well-known R&B singer, Kehlani, who previously attacked Monet's success. He told fans on TikTok that AI proliferation in music is "completely out of our control."

Kehlani also highlighted the power of AI to create fully formed songs without users having to credit anyone involved in making copyrighted works that became the basis for training this generative music system.

"Nothing and no one on earth will ever be able to justify AI for me," said Kehlani.

Similar concerns were also expressed by rock group Cardiff, Holding Attendance, which in September strongly criticized the AI band for overtaking their streaming figures on Spotify.

While on the audience side, the difficulty of distinguishing between "real" music and AI music is an issue. A new report from streaming service Deezer found that 97 percent of people couldn't tell the difference between the two.

These new statistics emerged during a period of continued controversy for AI technology in the music industry, where a recent study warned that those working in the music industry are likely to lose a quarter of their income due to AI, over the next four years.