Overview
- SZA disclosed on Sunday that an open AI-music database showed 238 of her songs were used to train generative models and she called musicians who support AI "disgusting."
- Platform data point to fast growth in AI music: Deezer reported roughly 44% of new uploads are AI-generated, a sharp rise from earlier this year.
- The industry is moving to commercialize AI: an AI R&B project signed a multimillion-dollar record deal and producers like Timbaland have launched AI artists.
- Artists say the practice raises consent and copyright concerns and distorts Black music while creating environmental harms where data centers operate, a pattern SZA and peers like Kehlani have criticized.
- The disclosure could accelerate legal challenges and policy debates over training datasets, licensing and artist compensation as platforms push AI features that remake existing songs.