Tilly Norwood
Billboard reports that a growing crop of AI-created performers has begun landing on its rankings, with some synthetic “artists” generating millions of streams and even securing major-label deals, intensifying worries among human musicians and labels.
Over the last month alone, Billboard says at least one new AI-driven project has debuted on a chart each week. Country act Breaking Rust placed “Livin’ On Borrowed Time” and “Walk My Walk” on the country digital song sales list, Christian project Juno Skye appeared on the emerging artists chart, and Enlly Blue’s “Through My Soul” reached the rock digital song sales chart. Billboard says it cross-checked these releases with Deezer’s AI-detection tools to confirm they were machine generated.
The breakout story is Xania Monet, a fictional R&B singer whose tracks are written by Mississippi songwriter Telisha “Nikki” Jones but voiced by Suno’s generative platform. Monet’s songs have logged tens of millions of U.S. streams, scored a No. 1 on the R&B digital song sales chart, and recently became the first AI act to show up on a Billboard radio airplay ranking. Suno, the company powering Monet’s vocals, is facing lawsuits from major labels and the RIAA over alleged unauthorized use of copyrighted recordings to train its models.
Jones herself reportedly signed a multimillion-dollar recording agreement with Hallwood Media after a bidding war, underscoring how valuable a hit AI persona can be for its human creator. Social media branding plays a big role: Xania Monet, Breaking Rust, and Enlly Blue all maintain Instagram accounts that present them like real performers, posting studio clips and performance-style content. Billboard estimates Monet’s small catalog had already earned more than $50,000 in U.S. streaming revenue by late October, noting that platforms such as Spotify currently treat AI-generated tracks like any other royalty-bearing release.
Not everyone is impressed. Singer Kehlani blasted Monet’s deal in a TikTok post, saying nothing will ever justify AI to her and criticizing systems that remix other people’s work without proper credit. Nettwerk Music Group chief Terry McBride told Billboard he would not sign an AI act, arguing that a nonhuman “artist” cannot tour in any conventional sense.
Film is facing a parallel fight. AI “actress” Tilly Norwood, launched by studio Xicoia, has drawn condemnation from SAG-AFTRA and prominent actors, who insist that performance should remain human-centered and resist replacing real people with synthetic personalities.
—Source: Forbes