In tune with AI

Avatar artistes will continue to rule the charts, musical collaborations will keep blending creativity with AI innovation this year

- VAISHALI DAR

IN OCTOBER LAST year, Telisha 'Nikki' Jones made headlines after her avatar Xania Monet became the first known AI act to debut on a Billboard chart. Since then, the American songwriter's singles Let Go, Let Go and How Was I Supposed to Know? have met with tremendous success, with the latter even securing a $3-million recording deal with Hallwood Media, an independent music management company, publisher, and record label.

The 31-year-old Mississippi resident emphasises that she writes all of the lyrics herself, but uses the AI platform Suno to produce Xania Monet's music. "Xania is an extension of me, so I look at her as a real person," she was quoted as saying by media reports.

Jones is not alone. AI in music is now a reality, and the Billboard charts in the past few months have proven that more than adequately ―at least six AI artistes have made it to the esteemed rankings for songs and albums so far. The number will only increase in the near future, say industry observers.

According to Deezer, a global music experience platform, roughly 50,000 fully AI-generated tracks are now being uploaded every day, accounting for 34% of all its daily deliveries.

Going mainstream

AI is making inroads into mainstream music like never before. Earlier last year, The Beatles' Now and Then made history after it became the first AI-assisted track to take home a Grammy. While it won the award for the 'Best Rock Performance', it was also nominated for the 'Record of the Year'. The song used AI technology to extricate John Lennon's vocals from an old cassette, originally a 1970 John Lennon demo, by the remaining band members, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

"We were able to take John's voice and get it pure through this AI," McCartney said in a media interview, adding: "Then we can mix the record, as you would normally do. It gives you some sort of leeway."