New “Drake-Like” AI Songs Surface on YouTube Following UMG’s Takedown Action on the Rapper’s Tracks
In Brief
Universal Music Group (UMG) removed a viral AI-generated song imitating the voices of Drake and The Weeknd due to copyright infringement.
New AI-generated songs resembling Drake have appeared on YouTube following the takedown of the rapper’s AI track.
UMG is fighting against AI services that use copyrighted music to create new songs resembling popular artists and is urging streaming platforms to prevent AI developers from accessing their catalogs to protect their artists’ intellectual property rights.
The viral AI-generated song, which imitated the voices of famous musicians Drake and The Weeknd, was removed from several streaming platforms due to a complaint lodged by the Universal Music Group (UMG), Drake’s record label. Despite the removal, a few new songs created by AI that sound like Drake have recently surfaced.
The song about Selena Gomez, “Heart on My Sleeve,” was initially uploaded on TikTok by a user called Ghostwriter977. While some versions of the song remain accessible online, it has been removed from Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Amazon, SoundCloud, Tidal, and Deezer. This incident has sparked discussions about the role of AI in music creation and copyright infringement.
Surprisingly, people seem to like the song as the artists’ voices seem unbelievably realistic.
One Twitter user wrote: “This is probably better than anything Drake has released in the last 24 months.”
“I don’t know if I should be scared or excited cause this s**t actually hits,” another listener wrote.
According to Rob Abelow, in less than 48 hours, the song has amassed an impressive 20 million streams across various platforms. The majority of these streams, around 13 million, come from TikTok. Twitter users also contributed significantly to the stream count, with 5.3 million listens. The song’s presence on Spotify, where it was released less than 24 hours ago, garnered over 254,000 streams. On YouTube, the song has accumulated 144,000 streams, while on SoundCloud, it has been played over 84,000 times.
The track was deleted after Universal Music Group made a copyright claim. According to Music Business World, UMG stated:
“The training of generative AI using our artists’ music (which represents both a breach of our agreements and a violation of copyright law) as well as the availability of infringing content created with generative AI on DSPs, begs the question as to which side of history all stakeholders in the music ecosystem want to be on: the side of artists, fans and human creative expression, or on the side of deep fakes, fraud and denying artists their due compensation.”
“These instances demonstrate why platforms have a fundamental legal and ethical responsibility to prevent the use of their services in ways that harm artists.”
“We’re encouraged by the engagement of our platform partners on these issues–as they recognize they need to be part of the solution.”
The newest AI songs “by Drake” are called “Winters Cold,” “Dreaming,” and “Not a Game.” The increasing number of “Drake-like” songs being created through AI raises the question of whether this trend will continue or eventually cease. It will be interesting to observe whether UMG’s efforts to protect their artists’ intellectual property will impact the emergence of more of these AI-generated songs in the future.
Drake has not made any public comments regarding the AI-generated songs that feature his voice.
UMG is battling against AI services that use copyrighted music to create new songs resembling popular artists, leading to takedown requests being sent to streaming platforms. As a result, UMG is urging platforms, such as Spotify and Apple, to prevent AI developers from accessing their catalogs to protect their artists’ intellectual property rights.
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Agne is a journalist who covers the latest trends and developments in the metaverse, AI, and Web3 industries for the Metaverse Post. Her passion for storytelling has led her to conduct numerous interviews with experts in these fields, always seeking to uncover exciting and engaging stories. Agne holds a Bachelor’s degree in literature and has an extensive background in writing about a wide range of topics including travel, art, and culture. She has also volunteered as an editor for the animal rights organization, where she helped raise awareness about animal welfare issues. Contact her on agnec@mpost.io.
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Agne is a journalist who covers the latest trends and developments in the metaverse, AI, and Web3 industries for the Metaverse Post. Her passion for storytelling has led her to conduct numerous interviews with experts in these fields, always seeking to uncover exciting and engaging stories. Agne holds a Bachelor’s degree in literature and has an extensive background in writing about a wide range of topics including travel, art, and culture. She has also volunteered as an editor for the animal rights organization, where she helped raise awareness about animal welfare issues. Contact her on agnec@mpost.io.
