AI-generated song submitted to the Grammys for consideration

An AI-generated song featuring vocals that mimic Drake and The Weeknd has been submitted by its creator to be considered for a Grammy nomination.

The track, titled 'Heart On My Sleeve', gathered a lot of attention earlier this year when it was posted to TikTok along with other music streaming services. It quickly collected over 13 million views on TikTok alone before it was banned by Universal Music Group for infringing on the artists' likenesses.

'Heart On My Sleeve' was written and produced by the producer Ghostwriter, who has not revealed his identity. It was submitted to two categories, Best Rap Song and Song Of The Year. They are both categories in which the award would go to the writer of the song, not the performer.

The Recording Academy's chief executive Harvey Mason Jr. explained that the song would not be disqualified due to its artificial nature. "It’s absolutely eligible because it was written by a human.”

However, other rules for Grammy awards eligibility include a trickier problem for Ghostwriter: any submitted music must be available to listen to "nationwide via brick-and-mortar stores, third-party online retailers and/or streaming services." That means that UMG's banning of the track may have effectively disqualified it from receiving a nomination.

This news is the latest as the music industry grapples with the use of AI in creating music. Last month, Google and Universal Music entered talks about licensing AI-powered music, while allowing the original artists to give consent and get paid for the work being used.

However, some artists are vehemently against the use of AI in creating music, fearing that not only would it stifle creativity but also give artists even less control over the profits from their work. Hozier recently said in an interview that he would join a strike over the issue if it ever came to that.