Drake, the award-winning artist, recently expressed his views on AI-generated versions of his voice, specifically a video featuring him rapping Ice Spice’s “Munch.” On Friday, he posted on Instagram that “this is the last straw,” regarding the AI clip. The collaboration between Drake and Ice Spice is notable, given their history. Drake was an early supporter of Ice Spice, but later unfollowed her on Instagram, which she couldn’t explain. Soon after, he followed her again.
Drake’s complaint follows Universal Music Group’s (UMG) request to streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music to prevent artificial intelligence companies from accessing their copyrighted songs. The music is used to “train” machines, which is becoming a concern within the music industry. UMG sent an email to the streaming platforms, claiming that AI services had been trained on copyrighted music “without obtaining the required consents” from those who own the songs.
Although there is no clarity on what steps UMG would take, they warn that they will protect their rights and those of their artists. UMG released a statement regarding the email sent to DSPs, emphasizing their moral and commercial responsibility to artists and their works. They expect their platform partners to prevent their services from being used in ways that harm artists.
AI covers of famous songs have become increasingly popular, with one example being Rihanna singing Beyoncé’s “Cuff It.” Although the implications of AI-generated music can be daunting, it’s hard not to smirk at Drake’s voice rapping, “A– too fat, can’t fit in no jeans.”
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