Earlier this month, we polled you guys whether you thought artificial intelligence, or A.I., had any place in metal. Unsurprisingly, the response was a resounding HELL NO, so this story’s likely to get some people mad. Earlier today, it was reported by multiple outlets that some assholes generating A.I. metalcore instrumentals are not only uploading fake tunes to Spotify, but they’re doing it while hijacking the pages of bands like Caliban, Alpha Wolf, and Fit For An Autopsy.
In all, about 20 or so metalcore bands have seen A.I. generated songs hit their pages. Among them include the aforementioned acts, as well as The Ghost Inside, Currents, Fit For a King, The Devil Wears Prada, Born Of Osiris, Like Moths To Flames, Bury Tomorrow, Imminence, and Silent Planet. Representatives from many of these bands have taken to social media to warn fans about the fake tracks, often urging fans to not listen to any of the “new” music posted to their Spotify pages.
This may not seem like a big deal to the layman, but it’s actually a major problem, since these fraudulent tracks can sit on an artist’s page for a long time while Spotify tries to address the issue. All the while, whoever uploaded the songs to the artist page begins siphoning off ever-important plays, generating income at the expense of the actual artists.
Note that these tracks have had zero traction on metal media outlets like ourselves, nor has the band actually been hyping up the songs on their social media. If that’s the case for a “new” song you might be listening to, it’s extremely likely that’s some A.I. bullshit. Often times, Spotify doesn’t even get involved in the issue, opting to let the artists and their management take care of the problem themselves.
According to Idioteq, it seems like most of these uploads are part of a “roader, coordinated effort by individuals using AI to create and distribute instrumental music that mimics well-known metalcore bands.” The tracks are allegedly disseminated by a company called Vibratech Musicians, a company that’s seemingly working to use these unethical means to make a quick buck.
Though Spotify hasn’t really responded publicly to this situation, it should be noted that some of the offending tracks have already been wiped from the service. That’s not to say others won’t crop up to take their place, so this honestly seems like an uphill battle that’s only going to get worse before it gets better.
We need A.I. regulation yesterday. Soon more art and music will be computer generated so well that we won’t be able to tell the difference between man-made and the product of some software — and that’s the nightmare scenario.
