AI Song Tops Billboard Chart – Why We Need Transparency NOW

Random Notes 94 Comments

AI-generated artist “Breaking Rust”


There’s an alarmingly low sense of urgency about a rapidly developing dilemma that threatens to absolutely eviscerate everything we know and love about music in a matter of months. We’re talking about AI of course, but it almost feels embarrassing and trite at this point to even bring it up in such a breathless context, in part because we all have an inherent sense of how catastrophic AI is going to be for human creators, and how inevitable its impacts ultimately are.

But maybe, just maybe, we should try to do something about it—attempt to install some guardrails and guideposts, and expend at least a modicum of effort to at least make sure the public is aware what is AI, and what is not. Yet it’s almost like everyone is frozen in a stasis, so overwhelmed at the awesome nature of this problem, resignation and bracing yourself for the onslaught is the only real actionable plan.

Do we expect Congress to address this existential crisis facing human creators? For the last 40 days, they couldn’t even agree on a Federal budget as workers at the Library of Congress’s Copyright Office wait in food pantry lines snaking around four blocks to get groceries. Sure, the onset of AI might grip us with fear. In truth, the entire world order is being reworked, with governments themselves becoming secondary to corporations and tech oligarchs implementing AI and robotics to overtake democracy as the top power broker in society, if not subjugate the entire world to their will.

But that doesn’t mean that something can’t be done in music in real time, and by the organizations, entities, and individuals in positions of power that don’t need an act of Congress to implement basic, but perhaps instrumental and imperative policies to make sure human creators are protected. What is one big, but very easy rule to implement? Any piece of music made by AI, or even partially made by AI must be disclosed as such to the public. Period.

No different than when a track is uploaded to streaming services and it’s mandated to disclose whether explicit language is present in it, the same should go for disclosing AI, with this information then presented to consumers. Charting organizations such as Billboard should also be insistent that AI-generated tracks be labeled as such in charts, if AI tracks shouldn’t be regulated to their own charts where they’re not competing directly with human creators.

Last week, many folks were up in arms when an AI song called “Walk My Walk” by an AI artist named Breaking Rust topped the Billboard Country Digital Song Sales Chart. An AI track was the #1 song on a country chart. Granted, all anyone has to do to top a Billboard Digital Songs chart is to sell 3,000-4,000 downloads since barely anybody is downloading songs these days. In fact, downloading songs is one way bad actors manipulate chart performance, and probably what’s partially behind Breaking Rust’s “Walk My Walk.”

But this underscores how this isn’t a problem in the offing, or just for pop/and hip-hop to reckon with. It’s right here, right now, and Billboard is being permissive of it, just as they’ve been permissive about hip-hop songs charting in country in the post-Lil Nas X reality where everyone is afraid of being accused of “gatekeeping.” Billboard itself has identified these AI songs on their charts. But why would a track generated in seconds by the music software Suno be allowed to compete with one composed by half a dozen humans in a studio that took hours if not days to compose?

Ad for Suno’s “songwriting” software

Breaking Rust has also appeared on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart. One of the big narratives throughout music over the last year has been how there have been no new breakout artists, in country, or really any genre. Each year you have that Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, Riley Green, Megan Moroney, Zach Top, Sierra Ferrell, Billy Strings, and so on and so forth that emerges from the shadows to become a star. There were no real names like that anywhere in 2025.

Why are no artists breaking out? One reason is likely because many record labels are heavily investing in AI themselves as opposed to spending that effort and capital to break actual, human artists. Recently, AI artist Xania Monet was part of a bidding war between major labels, and ultimately signed a multi-million-dollar deal.

Over the last few years, the new school avenue for launching talent was TikTok. But now TikTok and Instagram are so mucked up with AI slop videos, musicians are struggling more than ever to find traction in the algorithm, even when dropping five and six figure budgets on influencer placements. We are years behind addressing and regulating the TikTok universe and the payola that is completely dominating that space inequitably for music creators. Now we expect private corporations and the government to come in and regulate AI content?

Ad for Suno for use on TikTok


Are we ever going to be able to put this genie back into the bottle? Of course not. In the immortal words of Bill Paxton in James Cameron’s epic sci-fi thriller Aliens, “Game over man. Game f–king over.” But how about we expend some effort to make sure actual human artists are recognized over AI slop? How about we make sure the public understands what they’re consuming no different that how we label food with its ingredients? After all, this is stuff we’re feeding our minds, and our children’s minds. That’s why we mark music tracks explicit if necessary.

The dystopian vision of a future that’s man vs. machines seen in films like James Cameron’s Terminator is not fiction. It’s happening right here, right now for your favorite human musicians who are in an existential battle with AI-generated slop as we speak, both for positions on the charts, and for attention on social media. If we did something to address this issue right now, we would already be months, if not years behind.

Granted, some organizations like The Recording Academy (Grammys) have taken meaningful steps in the right directions. For the upcoming Grammy Awards, all entries were asked if AI was involved in the making of the music, and fully AI songs were were recused from competing for awards.

It’s very important to understand that the action of making music via AI is an exercise in rent-seeking, meaning individuals looking to make money by cutting corners and taking it from others—in this case, the actual human creators whose works are being used to “train” AI to compose these songs through services like Suno without any compensation. That is why major labels are suing Suno for $1.5 billion in a legal action being coordinated by The Recording Academy.

But meanwhile, AI artists like Breaking Rust and songs like “Walk My Walk” generated by AI programs like Suno are still being allowed to proliferate in the marketplace, and place on charts like they’re normal songs. It’s all being facilitated by the asleep at the wheel posture of the music industry, charting organizations like Billboard, streaming services, and the government.

Is all hope lost for human musicians, and actual, human-made music as AI only continues to refine itself, improve, becomes less detectable, and more prolific in the marketplace? Not necessarily. Vinyl albums continue to increase their market share in the music economy as people seek out tangible, physical product. Gen Z is actually returning to malls after years of retail decline due to seeking out more in-person experiences.

Live music experienced in-person is perhaps set up to benefit from the AI revolution. This is why Live Nation and AEG are making huge investments in new small and medium-sized performances spaces, betting on a future where live music is more valuable to people as AI takes over the recorded space.

Similar to how microwaves and TV dinners became all the rage in the ’80s, then fast food in the ’90s, and then people started to rebel in the ’00s up to today, demanding better options and real food—and chose to invest time and money in cooking and quality—a similar backlash could occur in music. But that backlash and more healthy choices can only be made if consumers know what is real, human made music, and what is AI.

Meanwhile if those AI disclosures are not made, the travails of the music consumer will not be just finding the music that might most appeal to them in an ever-increasingly crowded marketplace only exacerbated by AI-generated music, it will be trying to figure out what was made by humans, and what was not. This is also what will bog down journalists, influencers, and others that attempt to turn the public onto the best music out there.

The curse is cast with AI and recorded music. But how about we make this one, easily implementable concession to the human creators who rely on recorded music to make a sustainable living: demand AI songs and creators identify themselves, and make sure they’re not competing with humans for awards and chart placements. Then consumers can decide what they want to ingest and support in a more equitable, responsible, and transparent environment.

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