Sometime around June, a band named The Velvet Sundown quietly landed on Spotify. Styled like a 1960s psych-pop act, complete with faux-grainy band photos and retro-tinted melodies reminiscent of Creedence Clearwater Revival and Fleetwood Mac, the project began picking up steam through playlist placements and algorithmic boosts. But ‘picking up steam’ is putting it mildly, because within days, it had racked up more than half a million streams. By early July, the band had reached over 1 million in streams, so you might be inclined to think this band is creating the best music you’ve ever heard.
Sounds too good to be true? As it turns out, it is: the band is not real. The Velvet Sundown is most likely a fictional band generated by artificial intelligence, from the lyrics and vocals to the promotional imagery.
This is no longer a science fiction thought experiment. It’s happening in real time. AI-generated music is infiltrating mainstream platforms, and artists are understandably frustrated, by both the presence and popularity of these AI-generated acts, as well as the systems quietly enabling them. For independent musicians already grappling with the flawed economics of streaming, Velvet Sundown’s success felt less like a curiosity and more like a wake-up call.
The Economics of AI vs. Human Labor
For emerging and independent musicians, the economics of streaming have always been brutal. The average payout per stream hovers around $0.003–$0.005, meaning that even moderately successful artists struggle to generate meaningful income from Spotify alone. With AI-generated music now infiltrating the system, artists fear these already slim payouts will be diluted further.
There’s also the issue of volume. AI doesn’t need to rest, revise, brainstorm, or rehearse. Tools like Suno, Udio, and Google’s MusicLM can generate thousands of tracks in a fraction of the time it takes a human artist to write a single song. That’s how The Velvet Sundown managed to release two full-length albums on Spotify in the same month (and a third one is expected to be released in mid-July). These tracks can be used to fill background music playlists, gaming environments, mood-based compilations, or lo-fi chill stations—many of which rack up millions of streams with little scrutiny.
How are other platforms approaching AI-generated music?
Up until now, Spotify has refused to label AI-generated music or offer transparency into how algorithmic playlists might promote such tracks, which has only led to more frustration on the part of the artists. But what about other platforms?
- Deezer now flags AI-generated content and has pledged to remove music that imitates existing artists or looks like spam. The company is working on tools to identify synthetic tracks using audio fingerprinting and metadata analysis.
- YouTube, similarly, is developing AI detection capabilities and has announced a set of principles for generative music.
- Apple Music has yet to publicly comment on the issue, and there’s no indication it currently distinguishes between AI and human-created work.
- Tidal has taken a more artist-first stance in recent years, but so far has not offered a formal policy on synthetic music.
- Pandora, despite being somewhat sidelined in recent years, does mark certain content for editorial review, but has not announced any action regarding AI.
One of the more significant players here is TikTok. Its parent company, ByteDance, is developing generative music tools and has applied for patents related to AI music production. However, the company hasn’t commented publicly on whether AI-generated tracks are being promoted in its music ecosystem.
In short, no major platform has offered a comprehensive solution. Transparency is inconsistent. Policies are reactive at best. And that’s frustrating for real artists.
What Can Artists Do About It?
The rise of AI music might feel overwhelming, but it’s not all doom and gloom. There are ways for independent artists to adapt, and even thrive, through the chaos:
Get personal: AI can imitate sound, but it can’t tell your story. Fans connect with real people, so share behind-the-scenes clips, talk about your writing process, let people see the human behind the song. That kind of authenticity is going to matter more than ever.
Diversify your platforms: Spotify isn’t the only place to share music. Bandcamp lets fans support you directly. Patreon helps you build a community. TikTok is still a discovery machine. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
Use AI as a tool, not a crutch: There’s nothing wrong with experimenting. AI tools can help you generate ideas, create demos, or even spice up your mix. Just make sure the end result still sounds like you.
Speak up: The more artists push for transparency, the more pressure platforms will feel. Deezer is already labeling AI content, and YouTube is working on detection tools. If Spotify doesn’t change its approach soon, it could find itself on the wrong side of both artists and fans.
Will Artists Start Leaving Spotify?
It’s tempting to think so, as some artists have already pulled their music in protest, not just over AI, but over Spotify’s low payouts and shifting priorities. But let’s not kid ourselves: Spotify is still one of the biggest discovery tools out there, for both artists and listeners. Walking away completely is hard, and you risk losing a substantial part of your fanbase.
What could happen instead is that we might see artists take a hybrid approach: keeping music on Spotify, but directing their real fans elsewhere. That might mean exclusive drops on Bandcamp, private Patreon shows, or just being more vocal about how they really feel. The aggressive digitization of music we’ve been witnessing over the past years might slow, and people might start going back to the old ways of creating and enjoying music, relying less on digital tools and platforms and more on real-life interaction with fans, traditional merch and promotion, live gigs, analog recording and mixing tools, and of course, the vinyl revival.
Is This the End of Music As We Know It?
Sorry, Jim Morrison, but this is not the end. But it is the start of something new—and potentially messy and confusing. AI isn’t going to stop making music anytime soon, but neither are real artists.
We just have to decide what kind of music environment we want to help create: do we want a future full of emotionally flat, machine-made soundtracks that just copy-paste real artists? Or do we want a future where real artists are prioritized and celebrated for the very thing AI can’t do—be human?
The Velvet Sundown may have hit a million streams in record time, but you won’t be able to interact with them and hear their life stories, and they won’t be playing your local venue any time soon. Real artists, on the other hand, imperfect and flawed and human as they may be, will.
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