"The big picture: Artists of all types should be rattled that early, deeply flawed, work-in-progress AI is already cranking out country hits ... and knocking humans down the music charts. The success of "artists" Breaking Rust and Cain Walker pits AI technology against humans who earn their living as songwriters, artists and music business professionals Breaking Rust, a computer-generated outlaw blues-country singer, has the No. 1 song on Billboard's Country Digital Song Sales chart with the single "Walk My Walk." Cain Walker, an AI R&B singer, is No. 3 on the same chart with "Don't Tread On Me.""
"Threat level: The AI chart invasion is ringing alarm bells in Nashville - Music City - one of the songwriting capitals of the world. Songwriting and music publishing are the cornerstones of the city's music industry. Countless singer-songwriters flocked to Nashville over the decades. By the numbers: Breaking Rust boasts 2.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Cain Walker has over 842,000. By comparison, ascending singer-songwriter Jackson Dean, whose single "Heavens to Betsy" is climbing the country radio charts, has 1.6 million monthly listeners."
"Reality check: Billboard's country sales chart only tracks paid downloads - a small piece of the music market today. It doesn't reflect streaming and radio airplay, which are factored into Billboard's more influential Hot Country Songs chart. Zoom out: "In just the past few months, at least six AI or AI-assisted artists have debuted on various Billboard rankings," Billboard reports. That figure could be higher, as it's become increasingly difficult to tell who or what is powered by AI - and to what extent."
AI-generated acts such as Breaking Rust and Cain Walker are achieving high placement on Billboard's Country Digital Song Sales chart, with Breaking Rust reaching No. 1 and Cain Walker at No. 3. These virtual singers have accumulated large Spotify listener counts, creating competition with human artists and provoking concern in Nashville's songwriting and publishing community. Billboard's paid-download chart reflects only a small segment of consumption, excluding streaming and radio metrics used by Hot Country Songs. Multiple AI or AI-assisted acts have appeared on Billboard rankings recently, and many tracks arrive with unclear or anonymous origins and mixed AI elements.
Read at Axios
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