An artist just landed a record deal worth millions. The catch is that the voice does not belong to a human.
Xania Monet, an AI-generated artist created with the platform Suno, recently signed a $3 million contract with Hallwood Media. The deal is one of the largest yet for an artificial intelligence artist and has sparked swift backlash from musicians.
Artists push back on AI music
Grammy-nominated singer Kehlani made her feelings clear on social media. In a now-deleted TikTok video, she said, “Nothing and no one on earth will ever be able to justify AI to me, especially not f—- AI in the creative arts in which people have worked hard for.”
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Kehlani also pointed out the fairness of using such a tool, considering people who have “worked hard for, trained for, slept on the floor for, got injuries for, worked for their entire lives.”
SZA also added her voice to the conversation. On Instagram Stories, she argued that AI devalues music and also raised concerns about environmental harm.
“Hey I hate AI. If you f— w me PLEASE don’t make any AI images of me or songs. Ppl and children are dying from the harm n pollution AI energy centers are creating,” she wrote.
The person behind Xania Monet
Like other AI artists, there is a human creator behind the project. Telisha Jones, a Mississippi poet, writes the lyrics and personal stories powering Xania’s catalog.
While Jones can sing on her own, Billboard reports that marketing executive Romel Murphy admitted she’s not the “vocal beast” that Xania is. Most of the lyrics draw from Jones’ true stories, and fans in the YouTube comment sections often say they relate to the songs.
One song, “Miscarriage blues,” is filled with grieving mothers in the comments.
“I can’t stop crying,” one user wrote, while another thanked Xania for the song.
Although it’s clear to some that Xania is AI, as evidenced by the animation and misspelled words in music videos, several people in the comments remain unsure. In July, SAN reported on a group called The Velvet Sundown, who admitted after weeks of songs going live that they’re AI.
Similar to Xania, The Velvet Sundown racked up millions of listeners on Spotify with a ’60s-inspired rock sound. Xania already has nearly 700,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and more than 7 million total views on YouTube.
Timbaland and industry support
The voice of Xania Monet comes from Suno, the AI music system backed by producer Timbaland. He showed support for the project, posting on Instagram that she was “killing it.”
While Suno can create full song lyrics, vocals and production from a simple text prompt, Jones reportedly writes her own lyrics.
According to Billboard, the record deal to sign Xania Monet followed a bidding war that ended with Hallwood Media offering $3 million. The payout goes to Jones and her team, since she owns the rights to Xania.
However, the business model still raises uncertainty. Since the songs are AI-generated, it is unclear what exactly the label bought and how monetization will work. Meanwhile, Suno itself is facing multiple lawsuits over alleged copyright infringement.
