An AI-generated machine called Ghostwriter electrifies fans with the track “Heart On My Sleeve” and sends the music industry into a frenzy
It was only a matter of time. In view of the turbulent development of AI robots, also known as “artificial intelligence” in this country, sooner or later the first AI hit was bound to happen. This already exists!
According to various US industry media, a track called “Heart On My Sleeve” can be heard on various platforms since this weekend, which pretends “he” is a duet of the superstars Drake and The Weeknd. A mash-up of vocal and musical snippets resulting in an easy flowing song.
An electrifying mega (fake) collaboration, especially against the background that contemporary successful duos are currently THE hit topic on the international music scene. In this case, there is a so-called “soundalike program” with the congenial name “Ghostwriter” behind it.
As “Variety” and other media reported, the song disappeared from various streaming services over the course of Monday.
However, our test showed that “Heart On My Sleeve” can still be heard in Germany on YouTube (as of Tuesday, April 18, 10 a.m. CET). The affected major company Universal Music has not yet officially commented in the USA on how it will deal with so-called “DSP or takedown warnings” in such cases. These call on digital stream providers to remove “illegal music” or copyright infringement immediately.
Background: “Heart On My Sleeve” is originally a 1976 song by the songwriting team Gallagher & Lyle, who also released it on their album “Breakaway”. The song reached the top ten in the UK and was a US and UK cover hit for Bryan Ferry on his album Let’s Stick Together the same year. So a hit material that was already tried and tested in the analog era.
As of Monday (April 17), the AI version of “Heart On My Sleeve” in the US has already garnered so many views that it could easily have entered the counting range of the official “Billboard” weekly chart, which was published on will be released next Monday (April 24th).
In the course of the day, DSP systems in the USA began to delete the title, probably under pressure from Universal Music Group, as the US industry press suspects. First of all, the track in question disappeared from the streaming services Tidal and Apple Music. This then became “invisible” in the search system of the international stream top dog Spotify.
However, on Monday afternoon (April 17) on the US west coast (= Central Pacific Time), “Heart of My Sleeve” will continue to be shown on the video channel youtube.
At this point in time, it is hard to foresee how labels and rights holders will deal with such fakes in the future, which cannot be identified as such on (rapid) listening. Only this much seems certain: With the ghostwriter version of “Heart Of My Sleeve” Pandora’s box has been opened in hit quality.
And the history of the entertainment industry has shown that the illegal sector (see Napster and Co.) can hardly be defeated. This has a massively “disruptive” effect – and forces artists and their marketers to adapt to this development as quickly as possible.