Swedish Music Chart Excludes Hit Song With AI-Generated Artist Due to Lack of Transparency
A folk-pop hit song that topped Sweden's Spotify charts has been barred from the country's official chart after it emerged that the artist behind it is an AI creation. The song, titled "I Know, You're Not Mine," was written by a singer called Jacub and features an acoustic guitar-led melody.
However, investigations revealed that Jacub is not the human creator of the song. Instead, two credited rights holders at the Danish music publisher Stellar worked in the company's AI department. Stellar has admitted to using AI as a tool in their creative process, generating Jacub's voice and parts of the music.
The Swedish music industry body, IFPI Sweden, excluded the song from the official chart due to its AI-generated nature. According to Ludvig Werber, IFPI Sweden's chief executive, "Our rule is that if it is a song that is mainly AI-generated, it does not have the right to be on the top list."
The incident highlights the lack of transparency in the music industry when it comes to AI-generated content. Spotify, which was criticized for its handling of AI-made tracks, has been exploring a new standard for disclosing the use of AI in track creation through its DDEX initiative.
However, some experts argue that such initiatives do not go far enough. Ed Newton-Rex, a composer and campaigner for protecting artists' copyright, believes that mandatory AI labelling is necessary to ensure fairness and transparency in the music industry.
"This wouldn't have made it so high in the charts if Spotify had told users they were listening to AI music," he said. "Governments must require that AI-generated works be prominently labelled as a matter of urgency."
A folk-pop hit song that topped Sweden's Spotify charts has been barred from the country's official chart after it emerged that the artist behind it is an AI creation. The song, titled "I Know, You're Not Mine," was written by a singer called Jacub and features an acoustic guitar-led melody.
However, investigations revealed that Jacub is not the human creator of the song. Instead, two credited rights holders at the Danish music publisher Stellar worked in the company's AI department. Stellar has admitted to using AI as a tool in their creative process, generating Jacub's voice and parts of the music.
The Swedish music industry body, IFPI Sweden, excluded the song from the official chart due to its AI-generated nature. According to Ludvig Werber, IFPI Sweden's chief executive, "Our rule is that if it is a song that is mainly AI-generated, it does not have the right to be on the top list."
The incident highlights the lack of transparency in the music industry when it comes to AI-generated content. Spotify, which was criticized for its handling of AI-made tracks, has been exploring a new standard for disclosing the use of AI in track creation through its DDEX initiative.
However, some experts argue that such initiatives do not go far enough. Ed Newton-Rex, a composer and campaigner for protecting artists' copyright, believes that mandatory AI labelling is necessary to ensure fairness and transparency in the music industry.
"This wouldn't have made it so high in the charts if Spotify had told users they were listening to AI music," he said. "Governments must require that AI-generated works be prominently labelled as a matter of urgency."
Like, what's next? Gonna make us label our memes too?! 
But seriously, I get why the Swedish music industry body was like "no way" to that AI-generated song. Transparency is key, man. If you're gonna use AI in your creative process, be upfront about it! 
Like, what even is the standard for "mainly" AI-generated?! Is it 50/50 now?! 
It's all good and well to say Spotify's got a new initiative, but at the end of the day, you gotta put your money where your mouth is, fam! 
. I mean, come on, music's all about creativity and innovation now, right? 
The fact that Stellar used AI to help write the song is actually kinda cool, don't you think? 
. Ed Newton-Rex makes some good points though - if AI-generated content was labeled, people would know when they were listening to a track that's been 'helped' along by a robot 
.
. Maybe one day we'll see AI-generated tracks get the recognition they deserve... who knows? 
Don't get me wrong, I think AI can create some amazing stuff, but you gotta respect the human artists who are actually putting in the work. This whole thing feels like a slippery slope where whoever is behind the AI-generated track just gets a free pass... and that's not cool 
.
. I feel for the creators behind Stellar's AI department tho, they're just trying to push boundaries in music 
- if Spotify had been more upfront about the track being made with AI, maybe its popularity wouldn't have reached that high 
. artists deserve to get props for their work and not have someone else's AI doing the heavy lifting 
. think of all the times u've jammed out to a song and thought it was your fave artist 
. wouldn't wanna be surprised later that it was just some robot