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Legendary R&B singer Mary J. Blige was on the receiving end of a barrage of online abuse after the release late last month of a video advertisement circulated by AI music generator Suno, in which she is seen seemingly
collaborating and responding positively to an AI-generated song that sounds remarkably like her work.
There was just one problem: She hadn’t approved the ad, and the deal with Suno was made by an individual who did not have the authority to do so.
In a statement to Variety, a rep for Suno wrote: “Ms. Blige is an icon who we all deeply admire. Ever since she broke onto the scene with ‘What’s the 411,’ ‘No More Drama,’ ‘The Breakthrough,’ ‘Growing Pains,’ etc., she hasn’t stopped innovating. That’s why we wanted to work with her.
“We entered into a business deal with someone who presented themselves as Ms. Blige’s official representative. As soon as we learned this was not the case, and that Ms. Blige was uncomfortable, we terminated the advertising campaign.” Contacted by Variety, a rep for Blige had no further comment.
In the 85-second clip featuring Blige — which has been widely circulated online but at the time of this article’s publication seems only to be officially posted on Suno’s Facebook page — the singer is seen in a studio talking with an unnamed producer as he builds a track apparently titled “Pretty Flowers” that is similar to Blige’s classic work from the ‘90s and ‘00s. She asks him to add strings and then a beat, and watches, seemingly impressed, as the track is built in seconds. She seems to say the process is “amazing” and “dope,” although the way the video is edited makes it unclear what exactly she is responding to.
A shorter, heavily edited video — in which Blige’s comments appear to be taken even more out of context — is also making the rounds online, although it is unclear whether that one was created by Suno or was pieced together by a person not connected to either party.
The controversy arrived at a tumultuous time for Suno, which has had a highly combative relationship with the music industry in recent years. Although it has struck licensing deals with two top music companies, Warner (which previously sued it) and recently BMG, it is in ongoing legal action with Universal and Sony over unauthorized use of their copyrighted material, and was sued earlier this week by Grammy-winning Americana singer Jason Isbell and others, who claim the company has allowed users to produce tracks based on musicians’ identities with its models without their consent. Last month a German court found that the company was violating U.S. and German copyright laws.
