Xania Monet, an AI-generated artist, has achieved a significant milestone by debuting on a Billboard airplay chart, sparking discussions about the implications for human musicians aspiring to achieve similar success.
The track titled “How Was I Supposed to Know?” entered the Adult R&B Airplay chart at No. 30 on November 1. Originally gaining popularity online, particularly on platforms like TikTok, the song garnered enough streams and purchases to make its debut on both the R&B Digital Song Sales chart and the Hot R&B Songs chart in September.
Conceived by Telisha “Nikki” Jones, a poet and songwriter from Mississippi, Xania Monet (pronounced “zuh-Nī-ah,” rhyming with Shania) performs Jones’s lyrics accompanied by R&B music, with assistance from Suno, an AI music generation platform.
Jones views Xania as an extension of herself, attributing real qualities to the AI artist. This fusion of her passion for music with technology has been instrumental in Xania’s rapid rise to radio airplay within just four months, igniting concerns about the potential threat AI artists pose to traditional musicians.
Tristan (Triz) Douglas, a radio personality at Toronto’s Flow 98.7, praised Xania’s sound, likening it to renowned R&B artists like Beyoncé and Fantasia. However, he expressed reservations about promoting an AI-generated artist over real human talent.
Since debuting online in mid-July, Xania Monet has released 44 songs on Spotify and amassed a substantial following of around 769,000 across Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, with an additional 1.2 million monthly Spotify listeners. Despite securing a multi-million-dollar record deal in September, the distribution of benefits remains unclear.
According to Romel Murphy, Monet’s manager, the primary objective behind the AI artist is to enhance the creative expression of Jones’s lyrics. AI technology serves as a tool to amplify their artistry, infusing real-life experiences and emotions into the music.
While recognizing the potential of AI in music creation, Douglas emphasized the importance of preserving space for genuine artists in the industry. The influx of AI-generated music raises questions about the equitable representation of human musicians and the impact on their livelihoods.
The growing prevalence of AI artists like Xania Monet highlights the need for regulatory frameworks to safeguard the interests of real musicians in an evolving music landscape. Joey La Neve DeFrancesco, an advocate for musicians, underscored the urgency for regulations to address the challenges posed by AI and digital music platforms.
Despite the uncertainties surrounding AI’s role in the music industry, Miro Oballa, an entertainment lawyer, emphasized the necessity of human input in creative processes for copyright protection. The evolving nature of generative AI technology necessitates a thoughtful approach to regulation in the music sector.
As discussions on AI-generated music continue, stakeholders grapple with balancing innovation with the preservation of artistic integrity and human expression in the music industry. The ongoing evolution of AI technology underscores the need for collaborative efforts to navigate its impact on music creation and consumption.