AI slop tops Billboard and Spotify charts as synthetic music spreads
Three songs generated by artificial intelligence topped music charts this week, reaching the highest spots on Spotify and Billboard charts,Walk My Walk and Livin’ on Borrowed Time by the outfit Breaking Rust topped Spotify’s “Viral 50” songs in the US, which documents the “most viral tracks right now” on a daily basis, according to the streaming service,A Dutch song, We Say No, No, No to an Asylum Center, an anti-migrant anthem by JW “Broken Veteran” that protests against the creation of new asylum centers, took the top position in Spotify’s global version of the viral chart around the same time,Breaking Rust also appeared in the top five on the global chart,“You can kick rocks if you don’t like how I talk,” reads a lyric from Walk My Walk, a seeming double entendre challenging those opposed to AI-generated music.
Days after its ascent up the charts, the Dutch song disappeared from Spotify and YouTube, as did Broken Veteran’s other music.Spotify told the Dutch outlet NU.nl that the company had not removed the music, the owners of the song rights had.Broken Veteran told the outlet that he did not know why his music had disappeared and that he was investigating, hoping to return it soon.In an email to the Guardian, Broken Veteran, who declined to give his real name, said that he saw AI as “just another tool for expression, particularly valuable for people like me who have something to say but lack traditional musical training”, adding that the technology had “democratized music creation”.
He claimed his songs “express frustration with governmental policies, not with migrants as individuals”.For three weeks, Walk My Walk has led Billboard’s “Country Digital Song Sales” chart, which measures downloads and digital purchases.The list is minor in comparison to Billboard’s “Hot Country Songs” or “Top Country Albums”, which measure a broader range of signals of success.Breaking Rust did not respond to a request for comment.These three songs are part of a flood of AI-generated music that has come to saturate streaming platforms.
A study published on Wednesday by the streaming app Deezer estimates that 50,000 AI-generated songs are uploaded to the platform every day – 34% of all the music submitted.Walk My Walk and We Say No, No, No to an Asylum Center, aren’t the first AI-generated songs to reach a mass audience.Over the summer, AI-generated songs from a group going by the name Velvet Sundown amassed over a million streams on Spotify, in what one member later described as an “art hoax”.Ed Newton-Rex, a musician and the founder of a non-profit that certifies generative AI companies’ data training practices as fair to artists, says that the sheer number of AI-generated songs now online is a key factor driving the ascent of a few AI-generated hits.“It’s part of the very rapid trend of AI music gaining in popularity essentially because it’s spreading in volume,” he said.
“What you have here is 50,000 tracks a day that are competing with human musicians,You have a new, hyperscalable competitor and, moreover, this competitor that was built by exploitation,”AI music has improved in quality from its early, clanking days,As part of its study, Deezer surveyed 9,000 people in eight countries and found that 97% could not distinguish between AI-generated music and human-written music,“There’s no denying it.
I think it’s fair to say you can’t distinguish the best AI music from human-composed music now,” Newton-Rex said.Sign up to TechScapeA weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our livesafter newsletter promotionHuman-level quality is not the only reason for the success of AI-generated tracks on Spotify.As with many parts of the AI slop economy, there are a set of tools and platforms out there that enable AI music to spread easily – and sub-communities of users eager to share tips to game the system.Jack Righteous, a blog on AI content creation, recommends that its followers generate “streams of passive income” using a music distribution service called DistroKid, which funnels royalties to music creators every time their AI tracks are streamed on YouTube, Spotify or TikTok.DistroKid is part of an ecosystem of online music distribution services, such as Amuse, Landr and CDBaby, which help creators place their music on major platforms like YouTube and Spotify.
These services have varied policies on AI-generated content, and blogs describe DistroKid’s as “more lenient”,Several hits from Breaking Rust, including Livin’ on Borrowed Time and Resilient, appear to be distributed by DistroKid,“Basically every piece of AI music you see isn’t distributed by a regular label,They’re made by a person in their bedroom and uploaded to these distribution sites,” said Chris Dalla Riva, author of the book Uncharted Territory, on the data behind music virality,When reached for comment, Spotify pointed to its policy on AI-generated tracks.
Global markets struggle after tech sell-off and fears over Chinese economy
Global markets suffered another day of volatile trading after a tech sell-off that fuelled Wall Street’s worst day in a month and weak economic data from China showed an unprecedented slump in investment.The FTSE 100 fell by 1.1% in London, closing down about 100 points at 9,698, as bellwether banking stocks tumbled. Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest slumped by between 2.7% and 3
Reeves’s plan to ditch income tax rise prompts government bond sell-off
UK bond markets took fright on Friday after it emerged that Rachel Reeves had ditched plans for a manifesto-busting increase in income tax at this month’s autumn budget.On a day of choppy trading in the City, the cost of UK government borrowing rose by the most in a single day since early July, when a tearful appearance by Reeves in parliament spooked investors.The yield – in effect the interest rate – on 10-year government bonds, which are known as gilts, jumped by more than 0.13 percentage points to trade at about 4.575%, the highest level in a month
People in the UK: have you received good or bad financial advice from an AI chatbot?
Tech companies are pumping billions into the growth of artificial intelligence, with OpenAI this month signing a $38bn (£29bn) cloud computing deal with Amazon as part of a $3tn datacentre spending spree.But as people increasingly use AI chatbots – such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, Microsoft’s Copilot, Meta AI and Perplexity – for advice and task completion, some observers have concerns about misinformation, hullicinations and irresponsible advice.A survey this year from KPMG and the University of Melbourne found that 80 percent of people in the UK believe AI regulation is required.We want to hear from people who have asked chatbots for financial advice. Have you asked AI tools for help with money, debt or personal finance? Were you recommended anything unexpected, or unsuitable? What was the financial result? Do you have concerns?You can tell us about askng AI tools for financial advice herePlease include as much detail as possible
AI slop tops Billboard and Spotify charts as synthetic music spreads
Three songs generated by artificial intelligence topped music charts this week, reaching the highest spots on Spotify and Billboard charts.Walk My Walk and Livin’ on Borrowed Time by the outfit Breaking Rust topped Spotify’s “Viral 50” songs in the US, which documents the “most viral tracks right now” on a daily basis, according to the streaming service. A Dutch song, We Say No, No, No to an Asylum Center, an anti-migrant anthem by JW “Broken Veteran” that protests against the creation of new asylum centers, took the top position in Spotify’s global version of the viral chart around the same time. Breaking Rust also appeared in the top five on the global chart.“You can kick rocks if you don’t like how I talk,” reads a lyric from Walk My Walk, a seeming double entendre challenging those opposed to AI-generated music
Your Guardian sport weekend: ATP Finals, Albania v England and NFL
Will Magee kickstarts the football weekend with our unmissable gateway to all the action, with breaking news and updates. The Premier League takes a break for the international programme and he’ll be looking forward to some key fixtures – Greece v Scotland, Switzerland v Graham Potter’s Sweden, Liechtenstein v Wales – as well as developments from the England camp as they prepare to face Albania on Sunday. Why not join the conversation?Round nine in the Women’s Super League brings a Manchester derby. Four points separate the rivals, with City at the summit on 21 and United in third. Andrée Jeglertz’s City – with no midweek European fixture to tax their powers of recovery – are on the hottest of streaks and seeking an eighth straight win in the league
The Beta Blacks: Alpha days are gone for New Zealand and their aura with it
Thursday afternoon, and the All Blacks are out on the training ground around the back of the Lensbury hotel on the banks of the Thames, it’s a warm autumn day, and the mood is pretty free and easy. Will Jordan is practising catching high balls, Beauden Barrett is taking shots at goal, the forwards are packing up after running some drills, head coach, Scott Robertson, is chatting happily with the media before his press conference. Someone asks if his team are looking to make a statement against England on Saturday, the sort that reminds everyone exactly how good they are.“A statement performance?” Robertson says, perplexed. “We’re just looking for a result
Ill-advised Benn-Eubank Jr rematch another example of boxing’s cynicism
Who is your favourite cricketer in the history of the men’s Ashes?
Ford and George urge England to make their mark by beating New Zealand
Joe Root splutters but Ollie Pope prospers in England’s Ashes warm-up
Numbers crunched: how the votes were cast in the Guardian’s men’s Ashes top 100
From conscience to platforming Trump: inside the slow death of ‘woke’ ESPN