#TheWeeklyRoundUp – 09.06.23

Deezer to detect AI-generated music clones (eNews)

Music streaming app Deezer said Tuesday it was launching a tool to detect and tag songs with AI-generated vocal clones in a bid to protect the revenues of the real artists.Artificial Intelligence tools have recently allowed people to recreate the sound of famous artist vocals, from The Beatles to Oasis.“Heart on a Sleeve”, a track featuring AI-generated copycats of Drake and The Weeknd, racked up millions of hits on TikTok and other platforms.

Music companies fear this could eat into future earnings since there is currently no way to copyright the sound of someone’s voice.

But Deezer said it plans to identify AI-generated music, focusing initially on those which recreate the voices of existing artists.

The French company said it aimed to create a system to tag these tunes in the app, which can alert artists, labels and users to this “fraudulent activity”.“Our goal is to weed out illegal and fraudulent content, increase transparency, and develop a new remuneration system where professional artists are rewarded for creating valuable content,” said Deezer CEO Jeronimo Folgueira in a statement.

He said more than 100,000 new tracks are uploaded to Deezer’s site daily, making it increasingly important to distinguish between human- and machine-generated music.“AI can be used to create new incredible content and I believe there are massive benefits of using generative AI,” he added. “But we need to ensure it’s done in a responsible way.”

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Rapper K.O and DJ Uncle Waffles nominated for Best International Act at BET Awards (News24)

South African rapper K.O and DJ Uncle Waffles have been nominated for Best International Act at the BET Awards 2023.They will go up against each other and African superstars Ayra Starr, Burna Boy, Libianca, UK artists Stormzy, Ella Mai, Central Cee and L7nnon from Brazil and Tiakola from France.

BET announced the nominees on Wednesday, with Drake and GloRilla leading the international nominations, counting seven and six nominations, respectively, while Burna Boy heads Africa with four nominations, alongside Tems following closely with three.

According to a press statement, this year’s nominees reflect an abundance of creative expression and Black excellence across music, television, film, and sports.“We are thrilled to see this year’s impressive nominees list. The sheer quality of talent and artistry on display is truly remarkable, and we could not be more proud to showcase and recognise all our nominees on a global stage.

This year, we have a rich and diverse international nomination category from across the world from Burna, Ayra Star, Stormsy, KO, Lebiaanca from Africa, L7nnon from Brazil and Aya Nakamura and Tiakola from France,” said Monde Twala, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Paramount Africa and Lead for BET International.

He added:

“This underscores their exceptional musical abilities and contribution to the culture. Global African Music and Pop Culture continues to inspire and uplift audiences worldwide, and we are excited to celebrate their success by shining a spotlight on their incredible talent. This is the strongest year yet for the International category, and we eagerly anticipate honouring all our nominees at this year’s BET Awards.”