A.I. Killed The Rockstar?

Velvet Sundown burst onto Spotify in early June 2025 with their debut album Floating on Echoes. Within weeks, they logged over 1 million monthly listeners—powered in part by their hit folk-rock single “Dust on the Wind,” which peaked at #1 on Spotify’s Viral 50 list in Sweden, Norway, and the UK

Initially assumed to be a retro-styled band, Velvet Sundown’s cover art and band images displayed an unnerving digital smoothness. When questioned, their Spotify bio confirmed on July 5 that the entire project is AI-generated—music, voices, lyrics, imagery, and band personas crafted with tools like ChatGPT and Suno, under minimal human guidance. 

Their swift release of two albums in June—and a third (Paper Sun Rebellion) scheduled for July 14—highlights how AI can rapidly produce music content at scale. Critics warn this could dilute real artists’ earnings: independent musicians now face streaming pay pressures of around 3 – 5 cents per play, and AI-generated content may cut into that tiny amount.  Not to mention that the record labels will make more profit because there is no real human band to pay.  This will definitely give them more incentive to continue with more AI creations.

Reactions have been mixed. Tech critics described the music as “aesthetically neutral and emotionally hollow”, while fans argue we’ve always gravitated toward bland “vibe” music. Others, like UK listener Jamie Jones, worry “you’re taking food out of people’s mouths who are trying to make it in that business,” if Spotify doesn’t label AI content.

Spotify hasn’t flagged Velvet Sundown’s music as AI-generated, unlike platforms such as Deezer, which actively exclude fully synthetic tracks from editorial recommendations. This inconsistent approach has fueled a broader debate over transparency, fair pay, and trust in streamed music.

Apparently, over 1 million people don’t care that this band is an AI creation, or those million people are also AI.  Where does this end?  Music that sounds derivative and monotonous, plus bands that you can never see on tour.

Time will tell if we still have that rebellious rock spirit in us – or will rock finally fade away to be buried in the digital universe?

If video killed the radio star, AI will kill the rock star!

Doug O’Brien