Tracy Melon calls for removal of AI versions of artistes’ songs – Sqoop

Ugandan singer Tracy Melon has criticised the growing use of artificial intelligence to recreate artistes’ songs and voices, arguing that AI-generated versions undermine the time, money and effort musicians put into their original recordings.

Tracy called on those creating and uploading AI versions of artistes’ music to take them down, saying musicians invest heavily in the recording process before their work reaches the public.

“Remove our music from AI versions. We put in a lot of effort to do music, then someone releases an AI version,” Tracy said.

The singer questioned why artistes would continue spending hours in recording studios if their voices and music can later be replicated using artificial intelligence.

For her, making a song involves more than simply writing lyrics. Artistes have to physically record their vocals, work through multiple takes and sometimes strain their voices to achieve the desired result.

She said the situation becomes particularly frustrating when an AI-generated version of an original song attracts more attention online than the recording made by the artiste.

“Otherwise, if I didn’t want to, I would just go to the computer, put in the lyrics and let AI sing. But I go to the studio and voice, strain my voice, and then I wake up the following morning and find the AI version having more views than the original version,” she added.

Tracy’s comments come as artificial intelligence continues to reshape the music industry, with technology increasingly capable of mimicking voices, generating vocals and creating new versions of existing songs.

While AI tools have opened new possibilities for music production, their use has also raised questions about consent, ownership, copyright and the rights of artistes whose voices or recordings are replicated without their involvement.

For Tracy, the issue is ultimately about respecting the work behind an original recording. She believes artistes should not have to compete with artificial versions of their own music after investing their resources into creating the authentic recordings.

“You’ve got to get serious, guys,” she concluded.