In a move that highlights the music industry’s collision with artificial intelligence, a creator who uses AI to generate his music has landed a record deal. Oliver McCann, a 37-year-old visual designer who goes by the artist name imoliver, signed with independent label Hallwood Media after one of his AI-created tracks surpassed 3 million streams on Spotify, marking what is reportedly the first deal of its kind.
The deal, first detailed in a Digital Trends report citing the Associated Press, is a flashpoint in the debate over AI’s role in creative industries. McCann, who writes his own lyrics but uses AI tools like Suno and Udio to produce the actual music, is frank about his capabilities. “I have no musical talent at all,” he told the AP. “I can’t sing, I can’t play instruments, and I have no musical background at all.”
McCann’s success arrives as the companies behind these AI tools face intense legal pressure. Major labels including Universal Music Group, Sony Music, and Warner Records have filed copyright infringement lawsuits against Suno and Udio, accusing them of training their models on copyrighted works without permission. Experts have dubbed the current legal landscape a “Wild West”, comparing it to the disruptive era of Napster.
The controversy extends beyond copyright battles. The proliferation of AI tools has led to a rise in fake “AI slop” albums released under the names of real artists without their consent. While the core legal question of “fair use” for AI training data remains unsettled, some AI companies are beginning to settle major class-action lawsuits rather than risk a trial. McCann’s deal suggests that regardless of the legal outcomes, the industry is already finding ways to commercialize purely AI-generated art.
Sources
- Ars Technica: Authors celebrate “historic” settlement coming soon in Anthropic class action
- Associated Press: The success of AI music creators sparks debate on art, copyright and the soul of a song
- Digital Trends: A creator just turned his AI music into a record deal
- Forbes: Can Music Survive In The AI Era?
- MusicRadar: ‘I’ll never be able to sing that perfectly in tune, but I don’t want to. I’m human’: Meet the real artists that are victims of AI fake tracks
