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Drake, The Weeknd’s viral collab song an AI fake: Music industry in trouble?

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 04: Drake attends the LA Premiere Of HBO's "Euphoria" at The Cinerama Dome on June 04, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Will artificial intelligence completely replace all singers, rappers, and musicians in the music industry?

That is the industry’s main concern these days. While this is the first time an AI-generated song of this caliber has been created and gone viral, AI-generated songs have become a trend in recent years.

Fans who want to hear what their favorite artists sound like singing a different song may create a song cover on the spur of the moment, or, as in Taylor Swift’s case, “rerecord” her previously released songs, dubbed “Taylor’s Version” leaks.

According to the Financial Times, the recent increase in AI-generated songs has been concerning, prompting streaming platforms to prohibit uploading artificial intelligence services.

According to recent reports, these music label behemoths, such as Universal Music Group, are concerned about the copyright and royalties generated by these AI-generated songs.

UMG declared:

“We will not hesitate to take steps to protect our rights and those of our artists,”

According to reports, the song “Heart On My Sleeve” went viral on social media after being uploaded by a user known as “ghostwriter.”

At first glance, the track appears to have Drake and The Weeknd singing and rapping, but upon closer inspection, it appears to have been generated by artificial intelligence.

The unknown user also left an ominous message in the YouTube video’s description box:

“This is just the beginning.”

The song has been removed from Spotify, but it is still available on YouTube.

According to Variety, the song appeared out of nowhere, and the “ghostwriter” did not leave any hints about who wrote and produced the song.

However, the two-minute-and-16-second song alludes to Selena Gomez, who dated The Weeknd several years ago.

In fact, the Rare Beauty mogul was given a shout-out on the track:

“I came in with my ex like Selena to flex, aye / Bumpin’ Justin Bieber the fever ain’t left, aye.”

“Talkin’ to a diva yeah she on my nerves / She think that I need her, kick her to the curb ‘ All I know is you could’ve had the world … yeah, you were my world.”