An indie band's creative journey has taken an unexpected turn, sparking a debate about the role of AI in music. Torus, a Milton Keynes-based group, found themselves in a unique situation when their Billie Eilish cover was seemingly 'stolen' and recreated by artificial intelligence.
The band had initially shared a teaser of their grunge-inspired cover of Ocean Eyes, which gained some traction on TikTok. However, before they could officially release their version, a similar track appeared on Spotify, credited to an artist named Independent Lemon. This artist, with no social media presence or record label, had uploaded a track that Torus believed was generated using AI, predicting the rest of the song based on their snippet.
The Independent Lemon version started with what sounded like Torus' performance, but it continued for several more minutes, according to the band. Singer and guitarist Alfie Glass expressed his initial thought that it was a cover of their cover, done by a real person, but then realized the subtle differences.
Drummer Jack Orr recalled the moment he discovered the AI version on Spotify just before their release. "It was weird," he said, explaining how someone had looped their initial clip and then used AI to add elements to it. The account, with nearly 700,000 monthly listeners, has uploaded numerous covers, some earning millions of streams.
Torus spent a month crafting their Ocean Eyes cover to capture the vibe they achieved on TikTok. Mr. Glass admitted it was frustrating to see someone seemingly create a similar version in seconds. Mr. Orr added that while covers of covers are acceptable, the issue here was the lack of credit and the fact that the AI version was almost identical to their original work.
"They literally copied it," he said, noting the drum pattern was the same. "It's not inspiration when it's exactly the same." The band plans to report the artist to Spotify, hoping to have the track removed.
Simon Holland, a professor of music and human-computer interaction, offered his insights. He explained that while AI can generate songs from descriptions or audio demos, the quality can vary. After listening to Independent Lemon's tracks, he couldn't confirm they were AI-generated but noted the vocals and music were less clear, a hallmark of AI-generated music.
Professor Holland believes the existence of musicians is not threatened by AI, but rather, musicians will adapt and create music that AI lacks the training data to replicate. He emphasized that the situation where original music is seemingly ripped off is not good and should not be encouraged.
This story raises important questions about the ethics of AI in music and the potential impact on artists. As technology advances, how can we ensure that the creative process and the integrity of music are respected and protected?
