- Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. clarified his position on the viral AI-created song, Heart on My Sleeve.
- He expalined although the lyrics were written by a human, the AI-generated voices that imitate Drake and The Weeknd, were not obtained legally.
- Once again, artist consent is the sticking point here.
AI-generated music became a topic of conversation once again last week when Variety reported on the viral song, Heart on My Sleeve, which mimics the voices of Drake and The Weeknd. Said song was submitted for Grammy consideration by its creator, who goes by the name Ghostwriter.
At the time, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr., said the song was indeed eligible for submission, but as it turns out, that is not the case.
This as Mason Jr. took to Instagram at the weekend to clarify his position on the song, and explain precisely why Heart on My Sleeve does not meet the required criteria.
The Recording Academy CEO has commented on the subject of AI-generated songs in the past, noting that they would only be considered should there be limited use of the technology in order to create the content.
In an interview with The New York Times, Mason Jr. said that, “As far as the creative side, it’s absolutely eligible because it was written by a human,” regarding Heart on My Sleeve’s submission.
Clarifying his comments in the aforementioned Instagram post, embedded below, Mason Jr. explained, “Let me be extra, extra clear: Even though it was written by a human creator, the vocals were not legally obtained, the vocals were not cleared by the label or the artists and the song is not commercially available and because of that, it’s not eligible.”
As has become one of the major talking points around AI-generated content of late, the notion of ownership and consent appears to be the sticking point.
Mason Jr. also highlighted the fact that conversations and regulations around AI-generated content are moving far faster than people can keep track of.
“I take this stuff very seriously. It’s all complicated, and it’s moving, really, really quickly. I’m sure things are going to continue to have to evolve and change,” he added.
While we won’t see Heart on My Sleeve get a Grammy nomination now, the wait may not be long before we see an AI-generated song get a nod.
[Image – Photo by Florian Lidin on Unsplash]
