A viral song titled "Heart on My Sleeve," created by an anonymous producer known as "Ghostwriter" and featuring an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated vocal track by rapper Drake, has been officially submitted for consideration at the Grammy Awards, as reported by The New York Times on September 5th.
The Ghostwriter team has entered the song into the Best Rap Song and Song of the Year categories, according to a representative. Importantly, the Grammy's policy for the upcoming awards season, revised in early 2023, specifies that music featuring AI-generated components is indeed eligible for Grammy nominations. However, the category in which the track is nominated must reflect the artificially composed segment of the song.
The Grammy Awards' CEO, Harvey Mason Jr., has confirmed this policy and emphasized that music incorporating elements of artificial intelligence is "absolutely eligible" for Grammy nominations. He reiterated this stance to The New York Times concerning the Ghostwriter AI-Drake collaboration, Underlining that, from a creativity standpoint, it qualifies because a human was involved in its creation.
Mason Jr. also pointed out that the Academy will consider whether the song can be commercially distributed, a requirement specified by Grammy rules. This entails that a track must meet the criteria for "general distribution," including availability on popular streaming platforms. However, Despite the discussion around its eligibility, "Heart on My Sleeve" has been removed from major streaming services, creating a somewhat uncertain legal situation around its use of artificial intelligence.
Earlier in the year, Universal Music Group, one of the industry's leading record labels, issued a mass email to major streaming services, such as Spotify and Apple Music, requesting the blocking of artificial intelligence services from extracting melodies and lyrics and from copyrighted the song removal of songs infringing on copyright. Subsequently, Spotify reportedly intensified its efforts to police copyright violations on its platform, including blocking songs generated entirely by AI in an attempt to enhance the listening experience for its users.
