Tag: Country Music

Imagine creating a hit song that climbs the charts, only to discover it sounds uncannily like another artist’s signature style – an artist who had no idea their work was being used. That’s exactly what happened with the AI-generated country track ‘Walk My Walk,’ which recently hit No. 1 on Billboard’s country digital song sales chart.

The Rise of ‘Breaking Rust’ and Blanco Brown’s Sound

The song is credited to ‘Breaking Rust,’ a fictional, white, AI-generated avatar that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. However, the vocal phrasing, melody, and overall style bear a striking resemblance to Grammy-nominated artist Blanco Brown, the Black musician behind the 2019 country-rap hit ‘The Git Up.’

Brown himself was completely unaware of the AI track until his phone started blowing up with messages from friends. As he put it, ‘Somebody said: ‘Man, somebody done typed your name in the AI and made a white version of you. They just used the Blanco, not the Brown.’

Unpacking the Attribution and Ethics

The success of ‘Walk My Walk’ highlights a growing concern in the music industry: generative AI’s ability to create new songs using prompts that often leverage real artists’ voices and styles without their consent or knowledge. The credits for ‘Walk My Walk’ list Aubierre Rivaldo Taylor as a creator, with streaming platforms identifying him as songwriter and producer.

Taylor has also been linked to other AI-generated country artists. Digging deeper, the ecosystem connects to Abraham Abushmais, a former collaborator of Blanco Brown’s. Abushmais, whom Brown once nicknamed ‘Abe Einstein,’ co-wrote songs on Brown’s 2019 album and is listed as the developer of an AI music generator app. Brown stated he wasn’t notified of their involvement and has lost touch with Abushmais.

A ‘White AI Man with a Black Voice’

What makes this situation particularly uncomfortable for Brown is the visual representation: a white AI avatar singing with a voice modeled after his own. ‘It’s a white AI man with a Black voice,’ Brown remarked, adding that the singing style evoked ‘a Negro spiritual.’

This dynamic strikes a nerve for Brown, who has navigated the country music scene as a Black artist blending various genres. He feels it reflects a familiar pattern in Nashville, where innovation from Black artists is often reattributed or overshadowed. ‘He created something with my tone and gave it a white face,’ Brown said. ‘(Race) is an understatement in Nashville.’

Industry Responds to AI Disruption

The success of ‘Walk My Walk’ signals a major shift, moving AI music from internet experiment to commercial disruptor. Major record labels have begun taking action, with some suing AI music generator companies like Suno and Udio for allegedly training models on copyrighted material without permission. Others, like Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, are exploring licensing agreements to ensure artists are compensated and protected.

Educators emphasize that while AI can mimic sound, it can’t replicate the genuine emotion, energy, and lived experience that a human artist brings. Shelton ‘Shelly’ Berg, dean of the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, noted that ‘There’s an energy between an artist and an audience that happens in real time that you can’t see but you can feel.’

Blanco Brown, while not anti-AI, sees this moment as an opportunity to confront the legal and ethical void surrounding AI-generated music. He has responded by recording his own cover of ‘Walk My Walk’ and plans to release a reworked version with new lyrics and arrangement, challenging the industry and lawmakers to address ownership and rights in the age of AI imitation.