Digital avatars are all the rage these days, from AI models to digital actors, but Xania Monet (pictured above) is the first AI artist to really give humans a challenge in the music scene. On November 1, the AI singer hit No. 30 on the R&B chart, securing a $3 million record deal in the process. Needless to say, the deal sparked controversy around the rise of AI. Created by songwriter Telisha “Nikki” Jones, Xania Monet brings her creator’s lyrics to life to the beats of R&B with the help of Suno, a popular AI music-generating platform. Jones considers Xania an extenion of herself, adding that the AI artist helps her bring her lyrics to the world. Xania has been keeping very busy in the four months since making her musical debut. She has released 44 songs on Spotify and has gained around 1.2 million followers on the music service, as well as almost 800,000 others on various social media platforms. “I’m just taking what I love doing and mixing it with tech,” said Jones. “I just feel like AI … it’s the new era that we’re in, and I look at it as a tool, as an instrument, and utilize it.” Not everyone in the music industry agrees with Jones’ take on AI, though. Human artists are concerned that they could soon be phased out in favor of artificial intelligence models that can generate content at an unmatchable pace, and that streaming services and record labels will start focusing and investing more in AI than in human talent. However, the calls for legislation to protect the rights of real musicians have so far fallen on deaf ears.
