The music industry has just witnessed a groundbreaking moment. For the first time ever, an AI-generated country song has topped the Billboard Digital Songs Sales chart. Titled Walk My Walk, the track is credited to the AI-generated artist Breaking Rust.
AI musician Breaking Rust is a verified artist on Spotify.
There is no human vocalist behind the rugged vocals, no human songwriter crafting lyrics in a studio, and no live performer belting out the tune in a desert landscape. Nevertheless, the track has outperformed real artists, making Breaking Rust the first-ever AI-only act to reach the top of a Billboard country chart.
This achievement has sparked a new wave of debate about the impact of AI on the music industry's future and raises questions about what defines an artist when software can create, perform and promote its own music.
Breaking Rust surfaced online in mid-October, based on its first appearance on Instagram.
The AI artist is nearing 40,000 Instagram followers and 2 million monthly Spotify listeners. Its tracks, Walk My Walk and Livin' on Borrowed Time, have garnered millions of streams on various music platforms.
The project's credits are linked to Aubierre Rivaldo Taylor, a name associated with another AI music venture called Defbeatsai. However, little is known about Aubierre's real identity.
Breaking Rust's success has reignited discussions about the role of AI in the music industry. The act even debuted on the Emerging Artists chart at No. 9, further blurring the lines between human and AI-generated music. Despite the mystery surrounding its creation, Breaking Rust's sound has clearly struck a chord with listeners, who seem to be embracing AI-generated music without hesitation.
The growing presence of AI-generated voices is expanding beyond the music world. Hollywood stars are now collaborating with synthetic voice companies to replicate their voices for commercial use. The latest to join the trend are Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine, who have teamed up with AI audio firm ElevenLabs.
According to The Guardian, McConaughey plans to use the technology to translate his Lyrics of Livin newsletter into Spanish. Meanwhile, Caine's voice will be featured in ElevenLabs' marketplace, where brands can license celebrity voices for use in their projects.
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