September 1, 2025

Imagine a music creator who can't sing, can't play an instrument, and has zero musical training. Meet Oliver McCann, a 37-year-old British visual designer who goes by imoliver — but instead of guitar or drums, he fires up a chatbot to make music! His songs dance across genres like indie-pop, electro-soul, and even country-rap. "I have no musical talent at all," Oliver admits, "I can't sing, I can't play instruments, and I have no musical background at all." Yet, last month, this AI-powered artist signed with Hallwood Media, a record label, after one of his AI-assisted tracks rocked 3 million streams. This is the first-ever deal with an AI music creator! Oliver's journey shows the power of AI tools like ChatGPT-style platforms Suno and Udio, which create entire songs from scratch. Remember Velvet Sundown? That fake band’s AI-made songs and album art went viral, sparking big debates. Critics worry about "AI slop" — low-quality music flooding the market fast. But the technology also opens music-making to many who never dreamed of composing. Experts call AI music a "tsunami" set to sweep the $29.6 billion global recorded music market. Deezer, a music streaming platform, says 18% of the daily songs uploaded there are AI-made — but listeners still barely stream these tracks. Other giants like Spotify keep quiet on how much AI music floats on their waves. As AI music grows, the industry faces stormy seas. Record labels Sony, Universal, and Warner sued AI startups Suno and Udio last year for copyright issues. Even a German royalty group sued over songs sounding too similar to famous hits like "Mambo No. 5"! Meanwhile, top musicians like Kate Bush and Annie Lennox protested proposed AI laws by releasing a silent album, warning AI risks crushing their creative rights. But stars like will.i.am and Timbaland are dancing with AI, embracing its rhythm. Scott Smith, 56, runs the AI band Pulse Empire, inspired by the 1980s synth legends New Order and Depeche Mode. Never mastering instruments himself, Scott spends hours tweaking AI songs to match his vision. "It's just another tool," he says, like AutoTune was once a new magic. Lukas Rams from Philadelphia uses AI for his band Sleeping With Wolves, mixing metalcore and EDM. He agrees AI lyrics can be "extra corny," stuffed with words like "neon" and "shadows," so he writes the words himself. Yet AI helps spark ideas when juggling family life. The magic? AI lets anyone craft potential hits in a bedroom, no fancy studio needed. Josh Antonuccio from Ohio University says it’s like a "Wild West" era — exciting but tricky legally, much like when Napster changed music forever. Oliver sums it up perfectly: "I think we're entering a world where anyone, anywhere could make the next big hit. As AI becomes more widely accepted among people as a musical art form, I think it opens up the possibility for AI music to be featured in charts." The old music rules are changing—are you ready to tune in to the future?

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Tags: Ai music, Oliver mccann, Chatbot music, Music industry, Ai song generators, Copyright issue,