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The emergence of a band called The Velvet Sundown on Spotify has sparked intrigue, with its tracks accumulating hundreds of thousands of plays in recent weeks despite the band’s enigmatic nature.
The group boasts a verified profile on the streaming platform and commands a listenership exceeding 850,000 monthly listeners.
However, the four musicians identified as members of the band have maintained a conspicuous absence from interviews and lack individual social media presence, and no records exist of any live performances.
This has led to accusations that the band and its music are products of artificial intelligence (AI), a claim the band refutes on social media.
Requests for an interview from the BBC went unanswered.
Adding to the confusion, Rolling Stone US initially reported that a spokesperson for the band admitted The Velvet Sundown’s music was generated using an AI tool called Suno. However, the magazine subsequently reported that the spokesperson was, in fact, a hoax.
The individual, known as Andrew Frelon, stated that the deception was a deliberate attempt to mislead the media.
A statement on The Velvet Sundown’s Spotify page asserts that the group has “no affiliation with this individual, nor any evidence confirming their identity or existence.”
Furthermore, the band claims that an account on X purporting to be its official channel is also fake.
Professor Gina Neff, of the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy at the University of Cambridge, suggests that this situation highlights a broader problem extending beyond this single band.
“Whether this is an AI band may not seem important,” she said.
“But increasingly, our collective grip on reality seems shaky. The Velvet Sundown story plays into the fears we have of losing control of AI and shows how important protecting online information is.”
The Velvet Sundown’s indie ballads, characterized by guitar melodies and male vocals, are generally considered accessible, if somewhat unremarkable.
Featuring lyrics such as “eyes like film in faded light, dreams walk barefoot into the night” and “ash and velvet, smoke and flame, calling out in freedom’s name,” the music could conceivably be either AI-generated or composed by human artists.
Deezer, a competing music streaming service, reported that its AI detection tool identified the music as “100% AI generated.”
Spotify has not yet responded to requests for comment.
CEO Daniel Ek previously stated that he does not intend to prohibit AI-generated music from the platform but expressed disapproval of using the technology to imitate established artists.
The creative arts industry has voiced considerable concerns regarding the potential impact of AI.
Numerous musicians have protested the use of their content in training AI tools designed to generate music.
Sir Elton John and Dua Lipa joined members of the House of Lords in advocating for the inclusion of AI and copyright provisions in new UK legislation governing data use and access. Their efforts, however, were ultimately unsuccessful.
The government maintains that it is conducting a separate review of AI and copyright issues.
Ed Newton Rex, founder of Fairly Trained, an organization advocating for the protection of creators’ rights in the context of AI, argues that the questions surrounding The Velvet Sundown exemplify the concerns raised by musicians.
“This is exactly what artists have been worried about, it’s theft dressed up as competition,” he stated.
“AI companies steal artists’ work to build their products, then flood the market with knock-offs, meaning less money goes to human musicians.”
Sophie Jones, chief strategy officer at BPI, emphasized the need for government intervention, stating that the controversy surrounding The Velvet Sundown highlights the critical issues of AI and music rights.
“This discussion reinforces many of the concerns raised by the music industry and artist community in recent months on the critical issues of AI and music rights.
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