“Fear” of Belgian star Angèle, “interesting” for legend Paul McCartney: artificial intelligence (AI) programs that recreate artists’ voices are shaking up the music industry, aware that it will have to do with it.
This is the topic of the moment. The crooning voice of Frank Sinatra, who died in 1998, is found in a version of the hit Gangsta’s Paradise of Coolio. And Angèle was surprised to hear herself resume Saiyan, 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 find it crazy but at the same time I’m afraid for my job”writes the Belgian on her networks.
“Demonic”
“AI is absolutely everywhere, all the time, whether it’s in the thinking of the music industry or in the artistic, it’s more visible than before because the technology is democratizing”, summarizes for AFP Alexandre Lasch, of the National Syndicate 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”adds this person in charge.
“AI is demonic”slices Californian rapper Ice Cube in the Full Send podcast. “AI is the straw that breaks the camel’s back” deplores Canadian rapper Drake on his networks. The megastar is particularly targeted by these processes tracing a tone of voice. Whether for a deceptive version of munchtitle of the American rapper Ice Spice, or Heart On My Sleevea fake duo created between him and another Canadian heavyweight, The Weeknd, listened to more than 10 million times on TikTok in a few hours.
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, professor of intellectual property law at the British University of Sussex.
The AI to recreate the voice of John Lennon
An entire Oasis album, separated since 2009, renamed AIsis (AI in English for artificial intelligence), even appeared. “I listened to a title, better than other stuff heard these days”comments on his networks the singer Liam Gallagher.
And Paul McCartney qualifies on BBC Radio 4 the phenomenon “very interesting”: “It’s something that we are all trying to understand at the moment”. The pop legend evokes a slightly different case: an unpublished Beatles song will be recorded using AI to recreate the voice of John Lennon, under the control of the rights holders.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.
A spokesperson for the queen streaming platform told AFP that Spotify “carries in-depth discussions on how to manage the powerful potential of AI technologies”. who specifies that “compass” of Spotify remains “helping artists connect with audiences, 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 eliminate illegal and fraudulent content, increase transparency and develop a new compensation system where professional artists are rewarded for creating valuable content”said a press release.
As revealed by FinancialTimes, 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 FinancialTimes. The goal is to define tools to remunerate rights holders when fans create songs from their idols with AI programs.