Discord’s AI-Generated Music Hub: How AI Can Turn a Nobody to a Superstar

The music industry is changing with the rise of AI-generated music, and it has sparked a cultural debate. Recently, a viral track called “Heart on My Sleeve” that used AI to create an original song with Drake and The Weeknd’s voices went viral and garnered millions of listens before it was taken down by a major label. But this is not the only instance of AI music. AI music creators are dedicated to making AI music, and there are hundreds of other AI songs on social media and streaming platforms.

Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group (UMG) have claimed copyright and removed the album from YouTube and music streaming platforms. They also told platforms like Spotify and Apple to block AI apps from taking melodies and lyrics from their copyrighted music. UMG has been training AI systems on copyrighted content without consent. In February, UMG Executive Michael Nash wrote that AI is “diluting the market, making original creations harder to find, and violating artists’ legal rights to compensation from their work.”

However, AI creators say the technology makes music more accessible, while music industry professionals and other critics accuse them of copyright infringement and cultural appropriation. The issue is being heavily debated, and labels and publishers are preparing to address this new music industry issue. Entertainment and business attorney Karl Fowlkes said, “AI has many benefits in the music industry, but all stakeholders must fight generative AI. UMG’s notice to streaming platforms was a public domino.”

AI music creators have a community online, and it is becoming more popular and accessible. The AI Hub is a Discord server with a large community of AI music creators behind viral AI songs. This server helps people make and share AI music with guides and ready-made AI models that mimic specific artists’ voices. The server’s growth surprised its creator, who said, “It’s pretty surreal since our server has accidentally become the hub for a huge new technology.” The AI Hub has over 21,000 users, and it has released over 70 AI voice models of popular singers that can be inserted into code templates that run on Google’s Colab platform.

“No illegal distribution of copyrighted materials such as leaks, audio files, and illegal streaming” and “no violating anyone’s intellectual property or rights” are AI Hub’s Discord rules to avoid this issue.

The Ukrainian producer Wonderson said, “What I like about AI music is the freedom it gives. Every producer dreams of hearing how his beat will sound with Drake or Kendrick or Westside Gunn. Producers and songwriters outnumber artists, and even the most talented will never work with every artist they like. But artificial intelligence can fix that.” AI music provides people with the freedom to create, transform, and interpret music.

AI music creators have spent a lot of time improving AI voice models, releasing new versions regularly. They make AI music as a hobby to create tracks without the resources needed before. Although AI track videos are quickly removed, they have inspired a lot of new content. Listeners have the same freedom to enjoy and create AI covers. AI covers have given a lot of tracks a second chance and a new interpretation, and some of them sound even better than the original, according to Wonderson.

AI music is changing the music industry, and it has sparked a cultural debate. While AI creators say the technology makes music more accessible, music industry professionals and other critics accuse them of copyright infringement and cultural appropriation. Labels and publishers are preparing to address this new music industry issue. However, AI music creators have a community online and are continuing to create and improve AI music as a hobby. AI music provides people with the freedom to create, transform, and interpret music.