Picture credit score: The Velvet Sunset (Band) – Official X account
Introduction
In current days, the music trade has witnessed an avalanche of headlines surrounding a music band known as The Velvet Sunset. The rationale? The band could presumably be not be an actual band in any respect, and its music could also be AI-generated. Actually, the rising consensus is that this virtually actually is the case.
This text takes a take a look at the controversy that surrounds this “band” and displays on the impression it could have, and the actions which may be taken in inventive industries like music to mitigate the detrimental results of AI-generated content material that will proceed to turn out to be viral in common streaming platforms.
About The Band and Current Suspicions
The Velvet Sunset has been launched as a band of a blended psychedelic and alt-pop style that emerged on Spotify in early 2025, and has thus far cumulated between 400K and 650K month-to-month listeners in only a matter of some weeks. On the time of writing, the band has launched two albums — Floating on Echoes and Mud and Silence. What has been perceived as stunning — and greater than a bit of suspicious — by many is that these two albums have been launched inside simply fifteen days of each other, with a 3rd being scheduled for July 14th.
So, why the rising controversy about The Velvet Sunset being arguably an AI-generated band?
Apparently, and regardless of all current images of the band trying just like the work of AI as properly, The Velvet Sunset has emphatically denied being AI-generated on their X (previously Twitter) account, claiming that its 4 members are actual individuals and that their work can also be actual. However it wasn’t lengthy earlier than these claims have been probed and dismantled.
Just some hours previous to the time of writing this text, a band spokesperson admitted that the complete course of behind the band has been an “artwork hoax,” and that their music has been generated utilizing Suno, an AI-powered music creation instrument. Within the spokesperson’s phrases:
“[I]t’s advertising and marketing. It is trolling … issues which are faux have generally much more impression than issues which are actual.”
Within the days main as much as this reveal, and based mostly on a number of sources, investigations, and surmisings, the consensus on the band being created by AI was already virtually absolute, with a number of clear hints looking back.
“Members” of The Velvet Sunset music band | Picture supply: AAA Backstage
Maybe some of the apparent hints at one thing occurring are the suspiciously-looking photos of the band members on the web (see above): all of them look equally styled and have an “overly easy” look with traits that share rather a lot in widespread with typical AI-generated avatars. Actually (within the writer’s opinion), it might be exhausting to not discover that the 4 males in photos like this will not be even actual: simply take a look at the fingers within the hand holding the guitar.
Suspiciously, there aren’t any human traces of the band in any respect, with no data of interviews with media, live shows, social media accounts linked to their members, nor public presence in any respect. And that is regardless of the quite a few “images” of them out and about, even seemingly “on the highway” at occasions.
Notably, apps like Deezer, which exhaustively analyze each observe uploaded to their platform, have already labeled a number of the band’s tracks as “presumably AI-generated”. Different detection instruments like Ircam Amplify analyzed the tracks and labeled 10 out of 13 songs with 100% likelihood of being AI-generated, plus one with 98% likelihood, pointing additionally at Suno because the generative instrument getting used.
AI-Generated Music’s Potential Results and Influence
After having admitted that there have been some trolling and advertising and marketing actions carried out with AI-generated content material to attract mass consideration, we can not assist to take a pause and mirror on the impression of AI instruments in at this time’s music trade.
When initiatives just like the one underneath evaluation are able to changing into hits on platforms like Spotify, this implies the road between human and synthetic creations could have blurred considerably, questioning the true worth of authenticity and maybe negatively affecting legit musicians and bands.
From an financial dimension, if instances like this happen once more, it might be a matter of time earlier than AI floods main streaming platforms with artificial content material, thereby distorting playlists, biasing metrics in favor, and impacting the income of actual (human) artists. The general public would likewise present a bent to mistrust what they hearken to, generally even affecting the connection between artists and listeners, out of a possible insecurity in whether or not what they’re listening to is actual or not.
That stated, not every little thing ought to be perceived as detrimental concerning using AI in inventive industries: AI has the chance be a useful instrument for composing, trialling, and collaborating, offered it’s all the time used underneath stable moral requirements. Streaming platforms should implement a visual AI label every time any observe has been completely or partly AI-generated. Further strategies could also be wanted to enhance the traceability of creators, like incorporating fiscal or private information, and complex verification strategies when authenticating. One other necessary measure envisaged to guard human artists might be the creation of a authorized standing that acknowledges the rights of conventional creators, together with unfair competitors compensation towards synthetically generated content material.
Let me wrap up with some examples of what regulatory steps some areas are taking:
- The European Union is discussing, as a part of their AI Act, some measures that may require declaring whether or not generative AI has been utilized in any cultural content material, together with music.
- In the US, the Human Artistry Marketing campaign has been launched to demand transparency and consent in using voices and actual artists’ types in AI-generated work.
Conclusion
As of at this time, there actually isn’t any query that The Velvet Sunset will not be an actual music band, however fairly an AI-powered undertaking introduced to problem the boundaries of artwork, authenticity, and wider music consumption. Just lately admitted as an “artwork hoax” by its creators, the band’s case brings critical debate matters to the desk: what ought to be the worth given to a musical work in a roundabout way composed by people? How ought to the music trade and platforms act towards AI-generated content material like this? The stage is ready for AI’s encore, however will we applaud or query the curtain name?
In the long run, the band The Velvet Sunset appears to have actually hit the proper notes… of controversy.
Iván Palomares Carrascosa is a frontrunner, author, speaker, and adviser in AI, machine studying, deep studying & LLMs. He trains and guides others in harnessing AI in the true world.
