Well that didn't take long.
Just days after news shocked the music industry that the viral A.I.-generated song "Heart On My Sleeve," which uses the vocal stylings of both Drake and The Weeknd without permission, would be considered for the Grammy Awards, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. has changed course, saying that the song is not eligible.
An article in the New York Times earlier this week reported that "Heart On My Sleeve," by anonymous artist Ghostwriter, was submitted to the Recording Academy for the categories of Best Rap Song and Song of the Year, adding that Mason had confirmed it would be eligible because it was "written by a human."
Today, Mason posted a video on Instagram clarified the situation, confirming that the song will not be considered for the Grammy Awards.
“I’m sorry but I have to clear up some of this bad and really inaccurate information that’s starting to float around,” Mason said. “‘Heart on My Sleeve’… is not eligible for Grammy consideration. Let me be extra, extra clear: Even though it was written by a human creator, the vocals were not legally obtained, the vocals were not cleared by the label or the artists, and the song is not commercially available, and because of that. It’s not eligible.”
With the rise of A.I. and the emergence of ChatGPT, the music industry has been awash with confusion over the legitmacy of songs such as "Heart On My Sleeve." In July, the Recording Academy announced that music that uses A.I. could be eligible for Grammy consideration, however, “a work that contains no human authorship is not eligible in any category."
The Recording Academy will no doubt face dilemmas moving forward, but without the cooperation of the artists' vocals - in this case Drake and The Weeknd - and proper distribution through retailers and DSPs, it's pretty obvious that songs like "Heart On My Sleeve" will remain industry outliers.
See Mason's video below.