Everyone thinks about it. Belgian star Angèle is “afraid”, Beatles legend Paul McCartney finds it “interesting”. One thing is certain, artificial intelligence (AI) programs that recreate the voices of artists are shaking up the music industry, aware that it will have to deal with it.
The crooning voice of Frank Sinatra, who died in 1998, is found in a version of Coolio’s hit Gangsta’s Paradise. Angèle was surprised to hear herself cover Saiyan, the title of French rappers Heuss L’Enfoiré and Gazo. The video has been viewed over 1.8 million times on YouTube. “I don’t know what to think of artificial intelligence. I think it’s crazy but at the same time I’m afraid for my job, “writes the singer to 3.7 million subscribers on Instagram.
“AI is demonic,” says Californian rapper Ice Cube in the Full Send podcast. “It’s the straw that broke the camel’s back” laments on his networks the Canadian rapper Drake, particularly targeted by these processes tracing a tone of voice. Whether it’s for an unmistakable version of Munch, title of the American rapper Ice Spice or Heart On My Sleeve, fake duet created between him and another Canadian heavyweight, The Weeknd, listened to more than 10 million times on TikTok in a few hours.
An entire Oasis album, separate since 2009, renamed AIsis, even appeared. “I listened to a title, better than other stuff heard these days”, comments on his networks the singer Liam Gallagher. On BBC Radio 4, Paul McCartney comments: “It’s something we are all dealing with at the moment”. A slightly different case for the pop legend because an unreleased Beatles song will be recorded using AI to recreate the voice of John Lennon, under the control of the rights holders. Nothing of a wild appropriation.
“AI is present in the reflections of the music industry or in the artistic and it is more visible than before because the technology is becoming more democratic, explains Alexandre Lasch, of the National Union of Phonographic Publishing in France ( Snep). As applications develop, regulation is discussed at European level, in the United States, one of the sinews of war is transparency around AI tools, because the most important thing remains respect for the artist and creation,” he adds. Intellectual property is questioned. “What you protect with copyright is the expression of an idea, and the voice is not really that”, estimated in the spring with AFP Andres Guadamuz, teacher in property law. intellectual at the British University of Sussex.
A spokesperson for the queen streaming platform told AFP that Spotify “is conducting in-depth discussions on how to manage the powerful potential of AI technologies”. Who specifies that Spotify’s “compass” remains “helping artists connect with the public, monetize their art and build their careers”. The French platform Deezer indicated in June that it had developed a technology, which allows it to identify songs cloning the voices of music stars via AI. “Our goal is to weed out illegal and fraudulent content, increase transparency and develop a new compensation system where professional artists are rewarded for creating valuable content,” a statement read.
As the Financial Times reveals, Universal Music has been asking platforms like Spotify or Apple Music since April to deny access to its catalog to those who wish to use it to enrich AI programs. Google and Universal Music are also in talks about possible licenses for the melodies and voices of artists generated by AI, also reveals the Financial Times. The goal is to define tools to remunerate rights holders when fans create songs from their idols with AI programs.
