Image credit: DimzQuitz (CC from 4.0)
While labels like UMG are calling for AI sound mashups to be removed from DSPs, some artists are welcoming them. Grimes leads the way, but M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold says the concept is intriguing.
After Drake and The Weeknd’s AI mashup titled “Heart On My Sleeve” went viral with fans, Grimes has let her fans know that she would like to split royalties on any AI-generated tracks featuring her voice. The 35-year-old singer recently took to social media to make the offer.
“I share 50% of the royalties for every successful AI generated song that uses my voice,” Grimes tweeted. “Same offer as every artist I work with. Feel free to use my voice with no penalty. I have no label and no legal ties,” she continues. “I think it’s cool to be fused with a machine, and I like the idea of making all art open source and eliminating copyright.”
Following those comments on Twitter, M. Shadows, lead singer of Avenged Sevenfold, chimed in and said he appreciates what Grimes is doing with the AI technology.
“I like what Grimes is doing with her likeness and her AI. Not sure about the logistics with a label, but in the future I’d love to help make our “sound” easier for producers and fans to use this technology to create original Avenged Sevenfold songs,” tweeted M .Shadows on April 26th.
“What should the divisions be?” He continues, thinking out loud and inviting the world to answer. “There’s a lot to find out. Web3 will also play an important role in authenticating genuine AI-produced Avenged Sevenfold songs. Exciting? Gruesome? What do you think?” He asks.
Meanwhile, Grimes is working on her own AI project that can simulate her voice. The goal is also to be able to upload stems and samples so that people can train their own voice. She refers interested parties to the platform called Elf.tech, on which users can use artificial intelligence to create songs sound like Grimes.