AI Musician With 'No Musical Talent at All' Just Landed a Record Deal

AI-generated music is all over streaming platforms. There's a new controversy surrounding this topic, and it's around Oliver McCann. If you have already seen imoliver, this is the artist who recently signed with a record label. Unlike most artists, each song he has released was created with AI, paired with his own original words.

Who would have thought that someone who can't play an instrument or compose a song could sign a music deal like this?

AI-Generated Music Scores Millions of Streams

AI Musician With Zero Talent Just Landed a Record Deal

McCann's break came when one of the songs he generated through AI reached over three million streams on Spotify, according to The Associated Press. The viral hit caught industry executives' attention, eventually leading to his signing. The AI tools, such as Udio and Suno, have helped him in the creative process.

Controversy Surrounding Talent and Authenticity

His success is controversial because McCann has had absolutely no conventional musical training. He confesses:

"I have no musical talent at all. I can't sing, I can't play instruments, and I have no musical background at all."

That frank admission has incited anger among professional musicians who spend decades mastering their craft, only to have AI-augmented artists cut through the conventional path.

Apart from criticizing individuals, more common issues revolve around training materials utilized in generative AI applications.

Platforms such as Suno and Udio use music performed by actual artists to build their models. For some people, this could prompt doubts about copyright, fair use, and paying the original producers.

Why This Record Deal is a Big Deal

As the surge of AI-generated content continues, expect more labels to make similar deals. Fans will be presented with a decision: welcome AI-driven music as an odd new genre or shun it in the name of human creativity.

In the meantime, negotiations between music companies and AI firms are ongoing regarding fair licensing practices. These negotiations may lead to revenue-sharing deals, whereby artists whose work trains the AI systems get paid for their labor.

The imoliver agreement is just the tip of the iceberg, according to Digital Trends. Whether you see AI as a menace or an innovative tool, there is no denying the fact that artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the music market at lightning speed.

Katy Perry and other artists called for AI developers to protect their rights last year. For them, it would be unfair if the AI artists could easily release music with no grounds to follow. The letter acknowledged the proper use of AI to assist in creating songs, and not advocating for the banning of it in music production.

Just last month, Tech Times reported that the AI indie rock band The Velvet Sundown went viral on Spotify. At that time, their top hit "Dust on the Wind" recorded 380,000 streams.