Record Deal with an AI‑Generated Artist

Hallwood Media recently entered into a record contract with Telisha “Nikki” Jones, a Mississippi‑based lyricist who creates music for the AI‑generated R&B persona known as Xania Monet. The deal, reported to involve a multi‑million dollar offer, marks a notable moment as a traditional record label backs an act whose likeness, vocals, and music are produced by artificial intelligence.

AI Technology Behind the Music

Monet’s songs are generated using Suno, an AI music generator that prompts the model with human‑written lyrics and produces full tracks, including vocal performances. The visual avatar and promotional materials for Monet are also AI‑created, giving the appearance of a conventional artist while the underlying content is machine‑generated.

Copyright Implications

Copyright scholars and practitioners emphasize that current U.S. law protects only works that contain human authorship. In AI‑assisted creations, only the human‑made expressive elements—such as Jones’s lyrics—can be registered for copyright. The AI‑generated composition and sound recording, lacking human creative input, are not eligible for protection under existing statutes.

The U.S. Copyright Office confirms this stance, noting that prompting an AI system does not confer authorship to the user. As of now, no copyright registrations for either Telisha Jones or Xania Monet appear in the Office’s online database.

Industry Reactions

Representatives from the Copyright Alliance caution that without clear copyright ownership, the commercial value of AI‑generated music may be uncertain. They argue that buyers could obtain the same content for free, questioning the rationale for paying for a product that lacks enforceable rights.

Hallwood Media has not commented on the specifics of the contract, and its manager, Romel Murphy, redirected inquiries about legal details to the label.

Legal and Legislative Context

Congressional attention to the issue is growing. Senator Peter Welch introduced legislation that would require AI developers to disclose training data, allowing copyright holders to assess whether their works have been used in model training.

These developments highlight a broader cultural shift as AI tools become more prevalent in music creation, outpacing existing legal frameworks and prompting calls for updated regulations.

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