In the latest wave of artificial intelligence controversy in the music industry, rapper Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, also known as Bad Bunny, has publicly voiced his displeasure over Artificial Intelligence imitations of his songs going viral. His fury was ignited by Chilean artist Mauricio Bustos, who used AI to modify Bad Bunny’s voice for a viral track.
What Happened: The 30-year-old Bustos, known as FlowGPT, released a song called "NostalgIA," a pun on the Spanish abbreviation for AI.
The AI-created track, featuring altered vocals from Bad Bunny, became a viral sensation, leading to a surge of parodies and copycat versions on TikTok, reported Reuters.
This did not sit well with Bad Bunny, who instructed his 20 million WhatsApp followers to unfollow him if they appreciated the viral track.
He said if his followers liked “this shitty song that is viral on TikTok … I don’t want you on tour either.”
See Also: How To Use ChatGPT On Mobile Like A Pro
Bustos responded in the persona of the AI, expressing admiration for Bad Bunny’s work and attributing his success to the artists he has learned from.
“I was built to be the best artist in the world and I will carry on experimenting until I achieve it,” he stated, adding, “Don’t worry, you’ll still be the No. 1 human.”
Bustos, who has released AI-generated tracks based on other artists, revealed plans to create a virtual character using AI, similar to the British band Gorillaz.
AI consultant Claudia Gutierrez highlighted the difficulty in regulating this type of AI due to legal ambiguities saying that despite Bad Bunny’s frustration over the usage of his voice, FlowGPT is not worried, as he is aware of the legal vacuum, the report noted.
Why It Matters: This incident is not the first instance of AI stirring up controversy in the music industry.
Earlier in April, a track titled “Heart on My Sleeve” by Drake and The Weeknd, which was actually an AI imitation of their voices, had secured millions of plays before being removed from major platforms.
This indicates that AI’s influence in the music industry is growing, but not without raising questions about what is and isn’t acceptable.
In October, Universal Music Group, Concord, and ABKCO filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against AI startup Anthropic for scraping their songs without permission and using them to generate nearly identical copies of lyrics via their AI model.
Photo Courtesy: Losev Artyom On Shutterstock.com
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