Velvet Sundown: Real Band or Spotify AI?

AI music just doesn’t feel the same. Is Velvet Sundown a real band or part of the growing Spotify AI music trend?

Hello Friends -

I just heard a track off this new rock band’s upcoming album. Check it out:

Notice anything?

It’s ok. I didn’t notice either. At first listen it sounds like a modern take on early ‘60s/‘70s roots-rock.

But allegedly this is an AI-generated song. In fact, the entire band could be AI. But no one really knows for sure if it is AI or who created it.

I wish I could have heard it before learning that it could be AI but I think I would have had the same thoughts:

• The song hits all the right notes and emotions to capture that distorted, care-free rock n roll sound of the ‘70s but it’s unoriginal and boring.

• The lyrics have the same vague sentiments as the band’s bio.

• The audio quality isn’t great nor does it have the warmth of analog tape the song is trying to emulate.

In short, it just doesn’t grab me.

Who is Velvet Sundown?

The band has no website. Their music exists on Spotify and Apple Music and other digital streaming platforms. The band’s X states: “Yes, We Are A Real Band & We Never Use AI.” Images of the band are clearly AI-generated: a grainy, melancholic photo of four long haired dudes sitting in front of guitar amps and a tape-machine with - get this - only one tape-reel.

Their second album released this year will be out on July 14th. There’s a handful of tracks already up and the band has racked up 500,000 Spotify listens over the last week.

Check out the band’s bio:

There’s something quietly spellbinding about The Velvet Sundown. You don’t just listen to them, you drift into them. Their music doesn’t shout for your attention; it seeps in slowly, like a scent that suddenly takes you back somewhere you didn’t expect. Their sound mixes textures of '70s psychedelic alt-rock and folk rock, yet it blends effortlessly with modern alt-pop and indie structures. Shimmering tremolos, warm tape reverbs, and the gentle swirl of organs give everything a sense of history without it ever feeling forced.

Hard to read, I know. If AI has a voice, it’s this vague, generalized, poor impression of what it thinks is good writing. And that’s how I feel about the music. A poor impression. Directly on-the-nose but without any soul.

What does it mean?

In How Music Created Silicon Valley

Ted Gioia

writes that the big tech companies including Apple, Google, and Amazon have all used music as a ‘cash cow’ for profits to use towards other ventures.

Goia points out in Twelve Brutal Truths about AI Music that AI is incredibly cheap, companies using it can keep it secret, and while legal disclosure of the use of AI would be nice it might not happen. What does this mean for music? Goia says that simpler genres which AI can create effectively well are more vulnerable than other genres, like classical or jazz.

Could Velvet Sundown be a Spotify creation whose purpose is to generate wealth by ‘tricking’ listeners?

In the case of Velvet Sundown, we’ve got a fairly simple rock song likely to connect with listeners and no legal obligation for the creators to say that it’s AI generated.

Goia also foresees new jobs like an AI music query designer. Is Velvet Sundown someone’s resume portfolio?

Youtuber Rick Beato’s latest video shows how Sundown’s isolated instrument tracks have ‘artifacts’ while Led Zeppelin’s has clear separation. Beato demonstrates that Sundown’s mix is an amalgamation of the low quality mp3s the AI has been trained on. The mastermind behind the AI, the person behind the prompts, is potentially profiting from the work of others.

So how should the AI artist be compensated?

Back in 2011 I wrote a college essay about how mashup-artist Girl Talk was upending the music industry by using uncleared samples and arguing for fair use in copyright lawsuits. We are now at a similar inflection point with AI music.

What’s next?

Will crowds of people be swarming the stage to see Velvet Sundown perform at next year’s Bonnaroo? I picture an empty stage with holograms floating around, evoking the ghosts of rock gods passed, or maybe just one person armed with a computer and a sound system, live-prompting AI to create the perfect song for the moment.

If I heard this song in a playlist at a bar or on the radio I probably wouldn’t think much of it. I wouldn’t have known it was AI without closer inspection. But I might not have taken the time to look more closely because it’s not great music.

For some people, this song is going to connect with them in ways that I couldn’t experience. And thats fine! If you like it, you like it. The issue lies with the platform and how royalties are distributed rather than with the consumer. This has AI written all over it and someone’s cashing in whether it’s Spotify or an independent creator.

Whatever the motive, it’s more important than ever to support real artists making real music. So if you like Velvet Sundown, go listen to real music from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. There’s really no comparison listening to these songs next to the AI stuff. The real bands have so much emotion in their music that I can feel it in my body.

AI music just doesn’t feel the same.

Until next time,

Keith.