August 23, 2025
If you've wondered how Ai will affect the music industry, you can stop - it's already here. The first AI-created music to reach Rock Rips was from Aikon Show, a Lithuanian creator, and the song "Without You." It features very realistic, gritty female vocals, chugging guitars, and a melodic bridge. Two weeks later came the imaginary all-woman band Amethyst. The first peaked at #23 and Amethyst is currently at #24, while Aikon Show is back on at #38 with their latest.
How many of you remember "Everything Burns" by Ben Moody (formerly of Evanescence) and Anastacia? It found its way to radio by being part of the original Fantastic Four movie soundtrack. That was in 2005, and it spent 5 weeks at #1 here. A few years ago, I stumbled across a version that said it was by Avril Lavigne. It also confessed to the song being created by AI, from training it in Avril's style. But there's some truth in fiction, as several sources including Wikipedia seem to agree that the song was originally intended to be performed with Ben and Avril. However, there's no mention that any such recording exists, further dispelling the notion that the found version could be genuinely Avril. Although you may never find it on YouTube, a version currently exists here.
Just like organically created music, AI created music comes in many forms, some of them in need of polish...some of them not really worth listening to at all. However, the latest AI models allow the software to use your own voice. You can also contribute to any part of the process directly, from instruments to lyrics. A friend of the chart, Mr. Ruurd Woltring of the Netherlands, has used AI to create a few songs, even one that sounds like his voice - to me, anyway. Some of these Youtubers have generated videos, such as Aikon Show or Soul's Cry, another imaginary band from Ukraine, which features both male and female vocals (sort of like Skillet meets Beyond the Black). These voices and musical styles continue through threads in different songs, too. Amethyst's creator(s) don't use videos but rather a consistent series of AI generated photos of the band. And Amethyst is only one of many "artists" on the same Youtube site. Some videos include the lyrics on screen, others are more playful or serious.
Now, before you object to me using the word "band" without quotes around them when I refer to AI-generated music and artists, the music is still real. I've even played with one of the tools - Suno. Go ahead and see what I generated in just a few hours here.
The big question here is - Is it real music? Can it be given the same respect as organically produced music? I think the answer to that is a very personal one, and it will probably depend on the quality of what's created. But all indicators are that for the most stalwart holdouts, it will get there, someday. Check out the playlist below to get you started on a varying range of AI generated music.
