A collection of "leaked" Frank Ocean songs has been sold for CA$ 13,000 ($9,700) to a community of underground music collectors. But the tracks were not as genuine as they think since they were only made with an AI Music generator and sold as fake leaked tracks.
(Photo : Grott, Vegard/AFP/GettyImages)
Frank Ocean performs at the Oya music festival in Oslo, on August 9, 2012. AFP PHOTO / SCANPIX NORWAY / Vegard Grott ***NORWAY OUT***
AI-Generated Frank Ocean Music
A scammer has sold multiple leaked France Ocean tracks for thousands of dollars. However, the catch is that the tracks were not really recorded by the famous R&B singer-songwriter, but rather made with AI. Engadget reported that the scammer hired someone to make nine songs using high-quality snippets of the singer's voice.
The scammer with the handle "mourningassasin" teased a clip from one of the fake tracks to a leaked-music forum and convinced the underground music collectors of its authenticity. Users instantly believed the scammer and decided to buy the fake tracks, knowing that Ocean has not released a new album since 2016 and recently teased fans for an upcoming follow-up to Blond.
This resulted in multiple people messaging the scammer privately, offering big money for the fake tracks. The scammer fetched around $3,000 to $4,000 for each song in mid to late April, totaling CA$ 9,700 or US$ 9,700. Gamma, the owner of the Discord server focused on Frank Ocean recordings, stated that they have determined just about everything the scammer has is ungenuine.
Desperate for New Music
In his first concert in nearly six years, the singer played a controversial set during the first weekend of Coachella as the live stream of the set was called off last minute, arriving late to the venue, and cutting the set short due to curfew. He also canceled his appearance on the second weekend of the festival due to an injury.
But during his set, he teased his fans on a new album where his statement set the internet abuzz as fans have been waiting for his music for years now. Vice reported that the scammer might potentially see this opportunity to intentionally prey on fans and music collectors who are desperate for new and unreleased music from Ocean.
Underground forums contain music collected who often buy tracks privately that they believe to have leaked from their favorite artists or famous singers. Some also participate in group buys, typically on Discord, to crowdsource necessary funds.
Members of the community lamented that AI will destroy aspects of this situation. Gamma added, "This situation has put a major dent in our server's credibility, and will result in distrust from any new and unverified seller throughout these communities."
Also Read: Grimes Suggests Using Her Voice for AI Voice Tracks, Splitting Royalties to 50%
This comes after an AI-generated song from Drake and The Weeknd called "Heart on My Sleeve" went viral last month. Gizmodo reported that this was recently pulled from streaming services by the record label Universal Music Group for using large sets of vocal data to match the cadence and tone of the singers in the song.
Related Article: Spotify is on a Purge to Remove AI-Made Songs on the Platform, Boomy Boosts 'Artificial Streaming'
