{"id":12737,"date":"2025-07-21T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/uncategorized\/a-bittersweet-symphony\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T13:34:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T11:34:59","slug":"a-bittersweet-symphony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/haimagazine.com\/en\/redakcja-poleca\/a-bittersweet-symphony\/","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udd12 A bittersweet symphony"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Velvet Sundown<\/em> is a phenomenal band that has stormed onto the global music scene. Their sound is a fascinating blend of 70s psychedelic rock, folk and indie. The four-member group not only impresses with their unique approach to composition and vocals \u2014 it redefines musical authenticity. In just 2025 alone, they released three albums, and their monthly listeners on Spotify are currently nearing 1.5 million.<\/em><\/p>

This could be the review of this explosive, young band. However…<\/p>

The Velvet Sundown’s discography on Spotify<\/mark><\/a> features songs that were generated using the AI platform Suno<\/mark><\/a>. The prompts were used anonymously. The music files were assigned a graphic image of 4 fictional men. For communication purposes, profiles were created on TikTok, Instagram and X\/Twitter. Recommendation algorithms quickly picked up on the rising popularity of this music.<\/p>

The unexpected success of the “band” caught the attention of both traditional and social media. Attention was immediately drawn to the absence of music videos and announced concerts, as well as to the generative origin of the promotional materials. Soon, there were also attempts to impersonate the alleged authors of the provocation<\/mark><\/a>. The growing number of negative reviews prompted the creators to reveal the motivations behind this experiment.<\/p>

Not quite human. Not quite machine. We live somewhere in between.<\/em>The Velvet Sundown is a synthetic musical project driven by human creative vision <\/em>\u2014 composed, recorded, and visualized with the support of artificial intelligence.<\/em>This is not a trick<\/em>\u2014it’s a mirror. An artistic provocation designed to challenge the boundaries of authorship, identity and the future of music itself in the era of AI.<\/em>All characters, stories, music, voices and lyrics are original pieces generated using artificial intelligence tools as creative instruments. Any resemblance to actual places, events or people \u2014dead or alive\u2014 is purely coincidental and unintended.<\/em><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>

If the goal was to spark yet another debate <\/mark><\/a>about the impact of artificial intelligence on the music market \u2014 then it worked. However, the argument about the originality of this music seems rather stretched. The material from The Velvet Sundown is, after all, the result of AI processing the musical output of artists on which the Suno model was trained. This perspective is discussed, among others, by popular music scene commentatorRick Beato<\/mark><\/a> and The Darkness frontman, Justin Hawkins<\/mark><\/a>. This situation also shows <\/mark><\/a>how easy it is to create a similar project in virtually any musical style. And everything indicates that AI-generated music is now practically indistinguishable from that created by humans. The boundary between the human artist and the algorithm is becoming increasingly blurred.<\/p>

\"\"This, they haven’t played yet.<\/p>

Criticism of phenomena like The Velvet Sundown is forcing big tech companies to respond. 1On July 15, 2025, YouTube tightened its policy under the Partner Program<\/mark><\/a>. The goal is to limit monetization of inauthentic, mass-produced, and repetitive content \u2014 especially that created with the help of AI. The streaming service Deezer has started to tag generative content.<\/mark><\/a>. Spotify, in turn, states that they won’t allow to monetize AI-generated material<\/mark><\/a>. However, none of this changes the fact that the growing volume of such content will increasingly make it difficult for real artists to break through. Building an audience now primarily requires a significant investment in social media. And although live music is currently experiencing a boom<\/a>, only the biggest acts<\/a> can afford large-scale concert tours<\/p>

The case of The Velvet Sundown inadvertently falls into the phenomenon of AI Slop<\/mark><\/a>. Social media channels are increasingly flooded with generative content that holds zero value but attracts attention to make money from ads. Already nearly 60% of things published on the internet are created by artificial intelligence<\/mark><\/a> or with its support. Social and legal norms are struggling to keep up to counteract the negative effects of the AI revolution. We’re left with discussions provoked by initiatives such as The Velvet Sundown.<\/p>

Have you ever wondered why music starts to sound so similar<\/mark><\/a>? Most creators simply use the same sample banks, sounds and plugins in recording software. It’s easier and cheaper than lengthy studio sessions. Top artists use the same catalogs of ready-made tracks provided to labels by professional songwriters. They also overuse the supertonic (second degree of the musical scale) as Andrew Huang discusses in his material<\/mark><\/a>. Ironically, AI might democratize the music market, where every artist will have access to any musical material just a prompt away \u2014 ready for interpretation or to record a cover.<\/p>

Speaking of which, the first cover based on one of The Velvet Sundown’s tracks has already appeared. The musicians of Sons of Legion, who recorded it, encourage comparing it with the original<\/mark><\/a> and deciding which one has… soul. For me, definitely the latter. As for the idea of promoting the duo \u2014 it’s a bullseye. However, a street survey comparing both versions showed that for many people, it’s not obvious which was created by the band and which by AI.<\/p>

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