Imagine this: You’re scrolling your TikTok “For You Page” and come across an R&B song. Your algorithm has been pushing this artist all week, but you have yet to see the artist. It sounds good, so you don’t mind it. You want to see what else the artist has to offer, so you do some searching. Come to find out, that song and all the others that you’ve heard are completely AI-generated. The soulful song you heard had no soul at all. There were only prompts uploaded by a white man to create a song that sounded like a counterpart of Ari Lennox or SZA. There was no real artist creating this music. But then again, what constitutes “real” or “fake”?

AI in Songs So Far and Artist Response

AI usage in songs can range from production to vocal tracks to complete song generation from AI. A popular song on TikTok called “I Run” by HAVEN was going viral during the second half of 2025. It sounded like a pop hit with vocals reminiscent of the R&B artist Jorja Smith. After confirming that the song was in fact not her, listeners continued to dig deeper and ask more questions, all while engagement pushed the song to more people’s algorithms. It was confirmed that the vocals were AI-generated, which prompted it to be removed from TikTok and streaming platforms due to legal issues. Jorja Smith and her label’s legal team pursued legal action, alleging that HAVEN used her vocals and lyrics to train the AI used to make the song. HAVEN then re-recorded the song using an actual singer and released it back to the public.

“Real” artists have also used AI in their songs beyond just creating beats or mixing and mastering tracks. During the Kendrick and Drake beef, there are two instances I would like to point to: Drake’s track “Taylor Made Freestyle” and the joke track “BBL Drizzy.” The rapper released “Taylor Made Freestyle” to his social media in 2024 as a surprise diss track. The track included AI-generated vocals from Snoop Dogg and Tupac, West Coast rap legends, as a dig at Kendrick. Regarding the track “BBL Drizzy,” this viral AI-generated sensation was released in the midst of the beef by a comedian on social media. It poked fun at the allegations against Drake for getting cosmetic surgeries through a soulful AI-generated song. The song was then sampled by famous producer Metro Boomin, and he left an open verse for fans to rap over.

Why Is This Happening?

Although this generative AI can be used for fun jabs like “BBL Drizzy,” cases like that of Jorja Smith and real artist impersonation are very unfortunate. There are multiple driving factors as to why artists might use AI. Producers and artists can use AI software to help with equalizing tracks, mixing and mastering, and other production steps. This cuts down on work time, as they can put hours of work into a click of a button. Artists also cite AI helping them with writer’s block when creating songs.

While this is not too bad, when looking at larger labels, AI-generated artists create an opportunity to make a profit without having to pay. Human artists come with emotions, needs, pushback, creative control, and price. However, an AI artist does not require the same care and money to be put into them to make a song fit for virality. Companies are able to pocket the funds that they would usually use to nurture human artists. While there has been no widespread usage of AI artists in the industry, this speculative point is not far from becoming a reality.

Streaming Platforms

Specifically looking at Spotify, the top streaming platform, there have been issues regarding their platform and AI. Most notably, they do not disclose AI usage on songs. Even if they are aware that a song is completely AI-generated, listeners are not given this information, and the lack of transparency is a problem. In addition to this, they use many AI-generated songs to pad their playlists that they push to all users on a daily basis. It is widely known that Spotify does not do a good job of fairly paying artists their royalties for streams on the platform. By replacing real music with that created by AI, an avenue opens for the platform to continue to pay artists little to nothing for their art. The usage of AI on their platform points to a larger issue of marginalizing and devaluing real, human artists.

Connection to Course Themes and Looking Forward

When thinking of cyberpunk as a genre and framework, capitalism, technology, and devaluing the human are all integral factors to the creation of those worlds. When thinking about AI usage in music, it encompasses all of these ideas and pushes us closer to the worlds we are reading about in class. The usage of technology is devaluing cognitive labor. AI-generated music may sound good, but it lacks the emotion and experience that real artists have that help them to create their music. Spotify’s actions of pushing AI-generated music on their top playlists as a means of pocketing more profits relate to the importance of capitalism and consumerism in this genre. They care more about creating the illusion of choice and turning higher profits than they do about transparency and fairness between them, users, and artists. Looking towards the future, there needs to be stronger regulations on AI. It is important that we as consumers of art emphasize our want for real art—not “AI slop,” as TikTok users have called it. There is true value in the creativity, artistry, and love that artists put into their music. Listeners identify with the emotions that artists portray, and that cannot be generated by AI. How would you feel if your favorite artist was not a living, breathing human being?

AI usage: AI was used to edit the grammar of this post. https://chatgpt.com/share/6975437b-0d34-800d-a227-0e8d65bfe895

Sources: AI-Generated Music: A Creative Revolution or a Cultural Crisis? (2024, October 15). Rolling Stone Culture Council. https://council.rollingstone.com/blog/the-impact-of-ai-generated-music/ Beaumont-Thomas, B. (2026, January 22). Liza Minnelli uses AI to release first new music in 13 years. The Guardian; The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/jan/22/liza-minnelli-uses-ai-to-release-first-new-music-in-13-years Berger, V. (2024, December 30). AI’s Impact On Music In 2025: Licensing, Creativity And Industry Survival. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/virginieberger/2024/12/30/ais-impact-on-music-in-2025-licensing-creativity-and-industry-survival/ Gomez Sarmiento, I. (2025, August 8). AI-generated music is here to stay. Will streaming services like Spotify label it? NPR. https://www.npr.org/2025/08/08/nx-s1-5492314/ai-music-streaming-services-spotify Hess, T. (2025, December 5). HAVEN. vs. Jorja Smith: How “I Run” will shape AI music’s future. The FADER. https://www.thefader.com/2025/12/05/haven-jorja-smith-i-run-shape-music-ai-future Lund, O. (2026). Bars, Beefs & Butt Lifts: Drake vs Kendrick vs AI - The Skinny. Theskinny.co.uk. https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/opinion/drake-kendrick-lamar-bbl-drizzy-ai-