You've been listening to an AI band on Spotify without even realising it

Hindustan Times

15 hours ago

It was probably only a matter of time before an AI-generated band picked up a big following on Spotify. The Velvet Sundown, a supposed indie rock group, now claims more than half a million monthly listeners, but look a little closer and things start to feel off. Their band photos are clearly AI-made, their bio is full of odd phrases, and there's no sign any of the members actually exist. Even their name feels like it was stitched together by a computer, borrowing from classic bands to sound familiar.
What's really going on is less about music and more about technology. The Velvet Sundown's songs have landed on some popular playlists, like 'Vietnam War Music' and 'Good Mornings', which are followed by hundreds of thousands of users. Most listeners probably never searched for the band, the songs just played while people were after a bit of background music. It's a reminder that streaming numbers can be misleading, especially when algorithms and playlists are doing the heavy lifting. Is AI music the future?
Spotify's system doesn't really care if a band is real or not. As long as a track fits the vibe of a playlist, it can rack up streams, and those monthly listener stats can climb quickly. The platform's 'Discovery' mode makes things even easier for unknown acts, letting them trade a slice of their royalties for more exposure in the algorithm. It's a set-up that makes it simple for AI-generated music to blend in with tracks from real artists, and for streaming metrics to look more impressive than they really are.
The band's social media accounts have tried to push back against the AI rumours. 'This is not a joke,' the band's apparent X account wrote. 'This is our music, written in long, sweaty nights in a cramped bungalow in California with real instruments, real minds, and real soul.' They doubled down, insisting, 'Every chord, every lyric, every mistake — HUMAN.' In a follow-up, they added, 'Just because we don't do TikTok dances or livestream our process doesn't mean we're fake. The fact that some blog editors would rather pretend we're a bunch of machines than admit an unknown band is out here grinding & made something people enjoy is insulting.'
But the evidence says otherwise. Their images, their online presence, even their lyrics and vocals, all have that too-perfect, generic feel that comes from machine learning tools. It's hard to shake the sense that the whole project is less about artistry and more about testing how far AI can go in gaming the system.
For musicians, this is a tough pill to swallow. Real bands spend years building a following, playing gigs, and writing songs that mean something to them. Now, a few clicks and some clever playlist placements can give an AI act the appearance of success, even if no one actually knows or cares who they are.
The Velvet Sundown story is a sign of where things are heading. As AI gets better at making music, and as streaming platforms keep focusing on numbers over substance, it's only going to get harder to tell what's real and what's not. For listeners, it means more background music that sounds just right but doesn't really say anything. For artists, it's another reminder that in the streaming age, popularity can be manufactured, but meaning still comes from the human touch.
First Published Date: 02 Jul, 16:54 IST