The Velvet Sundown: Real band or AI-created musical phenomenon on Spotify?

In recent weeks, Spotify has witnessed a musical phenomenon as unexpected as it is disconcerting: a band called The Velvet Sundown has managed to gather more than 470.000 monthly listeners, harvesting an almost viral success. However, the true origin of this group has raised all kinds of suspicions, since there is practically no evidence that its members are real people and there are numerous indications that this is a project created entirely with artificial intelligence (AI).

There is no authentic trace of the alleged group on social media or the usual channels where other artists promote their music. The main profile image on Spotify and the photographs circulating on Instagram or Apple Music have that unmistakable AI-generated feel, something that many users have immediately detected due to the lack of texture and naturalness. Furthermore, if you search for information about the alleged members—Gabe Farrow (voice and mellotron), Lennie West (guitar), Milo Rains (bass and synthesizers) and Orion 'Rio' Del Mar (percussion)—, the result is a digital desert: There are no interviews, profiles, or truthful mentions outside of Spotify. or new accounts with no real story.

La group biography adds even more mystery, as it uses poetic and imprecise descriptions, comparable to the texts generated by ChatGPT. Phrases like “they conjure up worlds” and that their music is “a hallucination in which you want to remain lost” reinforce the impression of artifice. There are even quotes supposedly attributed to Billboard—the magazine has never published such comments—, a common resource in AI-created music marketing strategies.

A viral mystery: success, songs, and playlists

The popularity of The Velvet Sundown en Spotify and other streaming services soared thanks to the recommendation of their songs on algorithmic playlists such as "Discover Weekly" and in thematic lists of rock, folk or psychedelic sounds. The titles of their songs and albums, among them Dust and Silence, Floating on Echoes or the announced one Paper Sun Rebellion, present typical patterns of automatically generated works and, according to specialists, Some compositions even have a certain generic air and lack depth. which is usually associated with music created by platforms such as Suno o ShareThe variation in the lead vocals between tracks, noted by several users, is a common indicator of AI music generation systems.

This phenomenon is not limited to Spotify alone. Songs from The Velvet Sundown They can also be heard on Apple Music, YouTube, Amazon Music y DeezerIn the latter, they have even been marked as potentially generated by artificial intelligence, as the platform has implemented automated tools to identify these cases. In addition, the band generates interactions on Reddit and TikTok, where many users express their bewilderment and even frustration at the difficulty in distinguishing between real and invented music: there are no physical tests, tours, or interaction with the public.

The album covers They also arouse suspicionsAccording to experts, the covers display surreal elements and many compositions are similar, typical of AI image generators, adding another layer of artificiality. The bios, photos, and designs appear to have been assembled from scratch by algorithms.

As for the reception of music, The opinions of the listeners are dividedWhile some consider it a worthless digital experiment, others believe that, while enjoyable, it lacks excitement and originality. Redditors highlight the lack of cohesion and depth in the topics, and Some suspect that the views could be inflated or automated., despite Spotify banning bots.

How does this affect real musicians and the industry?

La The impact of AI on music streaming goes far beyond the Velvet Sundown case.Platforms like Spotify distribute revenue based on streams, without distinguishing whether the song was created by a person or an automated system. Projects like this can release many songs quickly, invading charts and playlists and taking a portion of the revenue share. This encourages a debate on equity y Sustainability for human artists, who invest time and resources in creating original music.

Some services, such as Deezer, already identify AI content, labeling suspicious leads and publishing data on daily uploads of content generated by automated systems, which already represent 18% of the total. However, Spotify and other platforms have not yet taken clear measures, which has generated criticism and requests for greater transparency from users and artists.

At the same time, more real musicians are experimenting with AI as a creative tool, to produce innovative sounds or explore new ideas, in contrast to the automated creation of virtual bands. Artists such as Holly Herndon, Taryn Southern, and Timbaland state that AI can expand possibilities, but will never replace human creativity..

Cases like that of The Velvet Sundown raise questions about the way we consume music and open a debate about the limits of authorship, creativity, and transparency in AI-generated content. The music industry must face the challenge of balancing technological innovation and protecting original artistic work in the face of the proliferation of automated creations in our daily playlists.