Following the viral success of the enigmatic artist Ghostwriter and their A.I.-created hit ‘Heart on My Sleeve,’ channeling the essence of Drake and The Weeknd earlier this year, representatives for the anonymous artist have revealed in an interview with The New York Times that they have officially entered the provocative track for consideration at next year’s Grammy awards.
Submitted for Best Rap Song and Song of the Year, “Heart on My Sleeve” remained eligible for consideration, even though A.I. technology was utilized in its production, Harvey Mason, Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, told The New York Times. “As far as the creative side, it’s absolutely eligible because it was written by a human,” he noted.
Billboard has made contact with Drake and The Weeknd to request their comments.
In April of last year, “Heart on My Sleeve” was removed from streaming platforms after accumulating over 600,000 plays on Spotify and 275,000 views on YouTube. Contrary to the public outcry, Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, TIDAL, and Deezer all removed the song from their respective platforms. In a statement provided to Billboard, UMG disapproved of the song and the utilization of A.I. because it, “demonstrates why platforms have a fundamental legal and ethical responsibility to prevent the use of their services in ways that harm artists.”
Mason informed the publication that he reached out to Ghostwriter via direct message on social media following the song’s sudden surge in popularity. He then arranged a virtual roundtable discussion with the Recording Academy to gain deeper insights into the capabilities of A.I. During the meeting, Ghostwriter participated with a disguised voice, adding another layer of secrecy to their identity.
“I knew right away as soon as I heard that record that it was going to be something that we had to grapple with from an Academy standpoint, but also from a music community and industry standpoint,” said Mason. “When you start seeing A.I. involved in something so creative and so cool, relevant and of-the-moment, it immediately starts you thinking, ‘OK, where is this going? How is this going to affect creativity? What’s the business implication for monetization?’”
Earlier this year, the Recording Academy introduced new “protocols” related to Artificial Intelligence. “Only human creators are eligible to be submitted for consideration for, nominated for, or win a Grammy Award,” the Academy stipulated. “A work that contains no human authorship is not eligible in any category. The Academy may disqualify any entry in a particular category if it determines, in the Academy’s sole discretion, that such entry does not incorporate meaningful and more than de minimis human authorship that is relevant to such category. {The Academy offered a definition of that term: “De minimis is defined as lacking significance or importance, so minor as to merit disregard.”
On Tuesday, September 5th, Ghostwriter made a comeback with a fresh A.I.-generated track titled “Whiplash,” boasting vocals reminiscent of Travis Scott and 21 Savage. The song not only emulates the styles of these artists but also playfully addresses Ghostwriter’s critics through lyrics like: “Me and Writer raise a toast/ Trying to shadowban my boy but you can’t kill a ghost.”
Billboard has contacted representatives for Scott and Savage. You can listen to the song by clicking the link below.
XXX
Fharnell M.
