Chart-topping country song raises questions about AI's role in music

Walk My Walk, reportedly created using artificial intelligence, lands No 1 spot in Billboard chart

Is Breaking Rust and the song 'Walk My Walk' an AI creation?

A chart-topping single featuring a gravelly voiced cowboy has added to the debate over AI use after reports that the hit was created by artificial intelligence.

Walk My Walk by Breaking Rust is ranked Number One in Billboard's chart for country digital song sales.

US media outlets this week reported that the song is the result of an AI project. Other songs by Breaking Rust seem to follow a similar musical algorithm and take on familiar country tropes including riding horses and drinking whiskey.

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The National messaged the Instagram account for Breaking Rust but did not immediately receive a response. The song is listed on streaming services as having been performed, composed and produced by Aubierre Rivaldo Taylor, who has no obvious online presence.

A song by 'Breaking Rust' rose to the top of many music charts, but some have accused it of being a product of AI tools.

News agency AFP ran the song through AI music identification services and found a high likelihood the song was the product of AI.

On the Breaking Rust LinkTree page, which links to music streaming apps, the group's music is described as being created “for the fighters and the dreamers”.

Billboard did not immediately respond to The National's inquiries as to the origins of Walk My Walk.

Fuelling the mystery, most streaming services lack protocols for labelling music generated by AI.

Music lovers appreciate authenticity, perhaps none more so than country lovers. The genre has for decades been defined by strong ballads, acoustic instruments, simplicity and a touch of rebellion. It has long been self-conscious about what is and what is not considered country.

Controversy still lingers over the 1975 Country Music Association Awards, where John Denver was awarded Entertainer of the Year.

Longtime country singer Charlie Rich, who was announcing the winner, set fire to the envelope containing Denver's name, a move many viewed as a protest against outsiders invading the genre.

In recent years, family and friends of Mr Rich have denied that he set fire to the envelope in protest, but the interpretation of the incident reflects the industry's wariness of change.

There are accusations throughout the entertainment industry that AI apps, and the large language models that help them operate, routinely poach from copyrighted material.

Aubierre Rivaldo Taylor is credited for Walk My Walk on various streaming services

AI's ability to potentially replace the livelihoods of musicians, singers and producers also looms large. The AI sector is considered to be in its early stages, but AI music creation tools such as Suno, AIVA and Udio are plentiful.

Other artists have embraced AI wholeheartedly as part of the process of music creation.

In 2024, Dorian Paul Rogers, a poet and teacher based in the UAE, confronted some of the angst among the creative community stemming from AI, by collaborating with AI tools for a poetry album, The Phenomenology of Gray.