A band named The Velvet Sundown has attracted over 850,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, even though it appears to be a complete AI fabrication. According to an article by Ian Bogost in The Atlantic, the group’s music, lyrics, artwork, and member photos are likely machine-generated. Bogost describes the music as neither good nor bad but “profoundly and disturbingly innocuous”.
He argues its popularity highlights how streaming has changed music consumption. Music is now often used as a background “vibe” for other activities, a role for which AI-generated content is well suited. Bogost explains that readily available tools like the AI music generator Suno and large language models make producing such a project simple. He created his own song in minutes to prove the point.
The Velvet Sundown’s sound is a soft mix of genres including psychedelic, folk, and indie rock. The band’s lyrics are similarly vague, offering moody phrases that could mean anything to anyone. For example, one song includes the line, “No more guns, no more graves / Send no heroes, just the brave”. Bogost concludes that this soulless but palatable music is perfectly adapted for a listening culture that increasingly uses audio to tune out the world rather than to engage with it.
