Meet Tilly Norwood. She’s everything Hollywood could ever dream of. Her beautiful brown locks. Her poreless skin. Her 24/7 work ethic. Most importantly, she won’t age a single minute. Created by Particle6’s Eline Van Der Velden, Tilly is an AI-generated actress, who is said to be paving her own path for a new genre of AI actors and films (1). We’ve already seen, expectedly, uproar from actors with the recent criticism from actors union SAG-AFTRA, calling it “a replacement of human performers by synthetics”(2).
Though, for Hollywood and the movie industry, it may seem easier to call out the rise of AI in displacing human creativity considering the conspicuousness of a synthetic woman acting out a scene. It’s perhaps not only because the sight of a non-human engaging in human conversations is awkward; after all, animated films still captivate audiences and the box office. But, the underlying factor may be the uncanny valley effect, where we, as viewers, question objects that verge on human appearances, but fail entirely in appearing human. We even raise our eyebrows at bad CGI; refer to the reception to Tarkin in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (3).
However, before AI entered the final stage of long-form entertainment, it seeped into the media ecosystem on the wings of seemingly harmless melodies. As benign as they present, most lo-fi beats playing in the background as we attend to our studies are AI-generated (4). Though this particular kind of music fulfills a certain purpose–simple background music to calm the listener–it evolves into songs with lyrics generated by AI, or even sung by AI, and ultimately reaching the charts, fooling everyone.
Say hello again to Xania Monet, an AI-generated R&B singer, created by Talisha Jones with Suno. Her streams have amassed millions, while Jones negotiated a $3 million record deal, approximately, with Hallwood Media(5). As personal a medium music is, listeners may stray away from the artificial sounds of Monet, but little do they know that the algorithms of music streaming apps incentivize these AI-generated artists. They even go as far as to purchase streaming bots that add to the monthly listeners for these “artists” to add to their credibility. How has AI affected the music industry, and if there are any, what are the boundaries to its exposure to art?
Recent Trends
Even though it may seem the use of AI in the music industry is a relatively new and noticeable phenomenon, it’s used in spaces where music listeners don’t often explore. According to a recent study in Gitnux, 45% of record labels are investing in AI-driven tools in production and mixing and mastering (6). Moreover, 52% of record labels believe AI helps them identify future hit songs and chart performances (6). Specifically, record labels who have directed methods of promotion from traditional outlets such as television toward social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, rely on the AI within social media platforms to configure how songs are discovered by new listeners(7). What’s surprising is that we are entirely blind to how many of our favorite and most-listened songs have undergone AI treatment in any step of its creation process.
It’s quite reasonable to understand why record labels may employ AI in any aspect of their industry. As profit-driven companies, record labels could cut down on investing in songwriters, producers, while sacrificing the classic appeal of a musician. With 65% of record labels using AI for music creation, AI-generated music is projected to generate $1.5 billion by 2025 (8).
At the same time, labels have been feverishly protecting their artists, songwriters, and producers from the infiltration of AI. As it is known, AI, when writing, producing, mixing, or mastering, is using current and past music catalog, identifying patterns, in order to generate lyrics and create instrumentals. Of course, most of the current and past music catalog, represented by artists currently on the label’s roster, or owned by the label, are worth protecting. Last June, music label conglomerates Sony Music, UMG, and Warner Records sued AI companies Suno and Udio for copyright infringement(9). These AI companies were using music by the labels’ artists to generate AI-versions of such music.
Considering the duality of record labels in implementing AI in their practices, but also vehemently opposing other AI companies from exploiting their artists, it is worth questioning where do we draw the line when it comes to AI in creative spaces? Does the use of AI in simple fine-tuning of a finished song still contribute to AI in songwriting, or producing? And when AI generates songs that are consumed, who owns these creations? Does it belong to the artist whose catalog the AI based their creation on? Who ends up benefiting from AI in creative spaces? These questions are still left unanswered.
How AI affects Artists and Industries
The recent conversation surrounding AI music and artists began with “The Velvet Sundown,” a rock band with more than 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify, who was revealed to be AI-generated. Their most popular song “Dust on the Wind” has topped the charts in Sweden, which shows some appeal with AI-generated music (10). Many artists in the music industry have raised valid concerns about the rise in AI-generated music and AI music creation, signing a petition from the Artist Rights Alliance; notable artists include Billie Eilish, Katy Perry, and Nicki Minaj, to name a few (11).
For artists, certainly there are AI uses that can be beneficial in production and composition. But the nefarious effects lie in siding with AI-generated statements based on statistics and abstract values over their own creative decisions. For independent artists, a Gitnux study indicates that 82% believe AI can be beneficial in their music creation, lowering the barriers for access to songwriting camps, production tools, and promotion (12). AI’s impact is not limited to the music industry. For film, publishing, gaming, and marketing, AI is used to copy the likeness of existing or past celebrities for their own incentives.
Case Study on Spotify
Spotify, a major music streaming service, has navigated the new waters of an inevitable presence of AI in music. Certainly, there are parts of their service that will always be dependent on AI such as its algorithm for music recommendation on “Discover Weekly” or “Daily Mixes.” For many consumers, this curation and discovery of new music are likely convenient to using Spotify.
At the same time, Spotify is partnering with record labels mentioned earlier as well as rights-holders such as Merlin Network to develop responsible AI music products (13). While no specific details have emerged as of late, it is certainly in the right direction for Spotify to protect artists as issues such as undercompensation of artists’ work on Spotify has been a major issue (14). In addition, with the rise in false, spam tracks on the platform, Spotify has revealed its removal of 75 million of these tracks, most of which generated by AI (15). Their policy is to introduce a 1000-stream minimum for royalty payments to filter out spam artists and songs, which could be a double-edged sword, when interpreted in the undercompensation issue.
Questions to Answer
With the rise of AI in all parts of society, there are definitely difficulties AI assuages. However, its entry into creative spaces, which has been bound to happen, is always concerning. But we can agree that there must be a balance between quantity and quality; quantity, that is at the expense of displacing so many of our human artists. So how do companies ensure AI doesn’t influence their artists or compromise authentic work, and how can consumers play a role in preserving art? Shall we?
This article is part of The Outside World, ftrprf’s very own research center.
For organizations, it’s pivotal to thoroughly understand what is happening in society. We help companies generate comprehensive insights into societal change and its potential effects on their strategy and operations, both negative and positive. With actionable societal insights, courageous plans, and a can-do mentality, we connect the outside world to your company's strategy. For these outside-world insights, we use a rigorous methodology that includes data processing, quantitative and qualitative analysis, and a thorough review process to ensure the accuracy and consistency of our findings.
For more information, please contact theoutsideworld@ftrprf.com.
At The Outside World, our very own research center, we keep a pulse on global developments through a societal lens. As part of this mission, we’ve created The Outside World Journal—a weekly digest delivering a curated selection of the most compelling news insights with our interpretation of why this matters and what the consequences for society might be. Read the journal here.
Sources:
- Duffy, Clare. “Hollywood Is Fuming over a New ‘ai Actress’ | CNN Business.” CNN, October 1, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/30/tech/hollywood-ai-actor-backlash.
- SAG-AFTRA statement on Synthetic performer | SAG-AFTRA. Accessed October 20, 2025. https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-statement-synthetic-performer.
- McMillan, Graeme. “‘Rogue One’: That Familiar Face Isn’t Familiar Enough.” The Hollywood Reporter, April 17, 2023. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/rogue-one-grand-moff-tarkins-familiar-face-isnt-familiar-957178/.
- Press-Reynolds, Kieran. “How Ai Wreaked Havoc on the Lo-Fi Beat Scene.” Pitchfork, July 2, 2025. https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/how-ai-wreaked-havoc-on-the-lo-fi-beat-scene/.
- Melville, Doug. “Al Singer Xania Monet Just Charted on Billboard, Signed $3M Deal. Is This the Future of Music?” Forbes, October 6, 2025. https://www.forbes.com/sites/dougmelville/2025/09/27/al-singer-xania-monet-just-charted-on-billboard-signed-3m-deal-is-this-the-future-of-music/.
- Jannik.lindner@Globalcommercemedia.com. “Ai in the Record Industry Statistics Statistics: Zipdo Education Reports 2025.” ZipDo, May 30, 2025. https://zipdo.co/ai-in-the-record-industry-statistics.
- Ai in the Social Industry Statistics Statistics: Market Data Report 2025. Accessed October 20, 2025. https://gitnux.org/ai-in-the-social-industry-statistics/.
- Music labels Sue AI companies Suno, Udio for US copyright infringement | Reuters. Accessed October 20, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/music-labels-sue-ai-companies-suno-udio-us-copyright-infringement-2024-06-24/.
- Winkler, Daniel, Christian Hotz-Behofsits, Nils Wlömert, Dominik Papies, and Jura Liaukonyte. “The Impact of Social Media on Music Demand: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment.” arXiv.org, May 23, 2024. https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.14999.
- Nied, Michael. “Rock Band with More than 1 Million Monthly Spotify Listeners Reveals Itself as AI Project, Including Its Musicians.” People.com, July 10, 2025. https://people.com/rock-band-velvet-sundown-ai-generated-including-musicians-1-million-spotify-listeners-11769532.
- Alliance, Artist Rights. “200+ Artists Urge Tech Platforms: Stop Devaluing Music.” Medium, April 23, 2024. https://artistrightsnow.medium.com/200-artists-urge-tech-platforms-stop-devaluing-music-559fb109bbac.
- Jannik.lindner@Globalcommercemedia.com. “Ai in the Record Industry Statistics Statistics: Zipdo Education Reports 2025.” ZipDo, May 30, 2025. https://zipdo.co/ai-in-the-record-industry-statistics.
- “Spotify Partnering with Multinational Music Companies to Develop ‘responsible’ Ai Products.” The Guardian, October 16, 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/16/spotify-ai-products-partnering-multinational-music-companies.
- “Spotify Made £56m Profit, but Has Decided Not to Pay Smaller Artists like Me. We Need You to Make Some Noise | Damon Krukowski.” The Guardian, November 30, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/nov/30/spotify-smaller-artists-wrapped-indie-musicians.
- “Spotify Removes 75M Spam Tracks in Past Year as AI Increases Ability to Make Fake Music.” The Guardian, September 25, 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/sep/25/spotify-removes-75m-spam-tracks-past-year-ai-increases-ability-make-fake-music.