Musicians Turned Sleuths Target AI Scammers

As audio-focused generative tools and platforms have advanced, the internet is now overflowing with AI-generated music, where melodies and vocals are crafted through algorithms based on human artistry. While some creators openly acknowledge their use of AI, others have only come clean when faced with public scrutiny.

For musicians, particularly those in tech-driven genres like electronic dance music, the question of authenticity has become increasingly pressing. While fans can call out artists they suspect of using generative AI, it’s a different matter for artists to confront their peers. However, some, like 26-year-old EDM producer Max “H4RRIS” Harris, are vocal about their opposition to generative technology, producing videos that challenge those they believe are misrepresenting AI-generated content as genuine art.

In a recent conversation, Harris described AI-generated music as “a kind of decoy art form,” arguing that its creators lack meaningful expression. He believes that true art emerges from individuals conveying emotions and messages, while AI proponents are primarily motivated by profit. “I don’t consider AI-generated material to be art, and I don’t think this technology is really advancing art in any meaningful way,” he stated. “It’s a technological advancement that allows people to steal real art and claim it as their own.”

Hailing from Maine, Harris likens his music-making process to other creative endeavors. He starts with a core concept and builds upon it until something resonates. Despite the complexity of his setup—featuring Ableton Live, a Novation Launchkey 49 MIDI controller, Ableton Push 3, Launchpad X, various analog synthesizers, Serum, Diva, and Kontakt—he emphasizes that it’s about making creative choices that lead to a satisfying sound. “Each of those decisions—there are hundreds for each song—brings me closer to evoking a specific idea or emotion,” he explained. “Once I have a song mapped out, I have to make even more choices about how to mix it to sound good and presentable.”

For Harris, being a true artist involves making informed creative decisions based on a deep understanding of the medium. He is particularly concerned about how generative AI diminishes the need for thoughtful composition, muddying listeners’ perceptions of authentic EDM. “Aside from the similar vocals, you can usually hear a sharp hissing throughout the track,” he noted about AI-generated songs. “I think that comes from how these models often start with a big block of white noise and then guess waveforms based on data from real songs.”

Harris pointed to tracks like MANSA’s “Midnight on My Mind” and Danny and Ian Asher’s “Take Me (To The Moon)” as examples of what he humorously calls “the AI revolution” that’s tainting the EDM scene. While there’s no definitive proof that these songs were created using AI, Harris’s claims reflect a broader culture of skepticism surrounding the rise of AI content.

He holds AI production company Suno accountable for the surge in this type of music, noting specific patterns that help him identify AI-generated tracks. “With many Suno-generated songs, you’ll notice the vocals and melodic elements stutter at the same time,” he explained. “These models struggle to separate different parts of the songs they’re trained on, treating them as one big instrument. To a music producer, these choices seem unnatural.”

Sometimes, the visuals accompanying AI tracks also lead Harris to suspect AI involvement. For instance, while the generative models behind the music of evangelical Christian persona Lionsaddle may not be audible, the character’s fingers disappearing in videos raises red flags. Similarly, the overly polished visuals of Christian house musician Midnite Manna’s content resemble what many refer to as AI slop.

Suno was also a recurring topic in my discussion with 39-year-old Italian turntablist-turned-producer Nihil Young. Young’s posts about Suno users on social media inspired Harris to create his own videos. Over the past few months, Young has observed a wave of new EDM artists gaining traction with music he suspects was generated using AI tools like Suno. Although he typically avoids online debates, he felt compelled to address the influx of AI tracks in the scene.

“These songs are the sound of Suno, which means the creators are likely just uploading original, copyrighted tracks and asking the platform to remix them,” Young remarked, referencing a cover of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” that now includes AI credits after backlash. “If they can do it with major artists, they can do it with anyone, which isn’t right. They can take your entire catalog, feed it to Suno, and generate ‘new’ songs from that stolen work.”

Young shared that after his posts, he faced hacking attempts and harassment from AI supporters, and he suspects that fake followers were bought to undermine his credibility. This experience made him reconsider his approach, especially as he balances raising a young daughter and promoting his own new album. While he’s paused his callouts, he remains concerned about the impact of AI music on human artists. “Music production is my main source of income, and as soon as AI started to emerge, I lost many clients,” he said. “I can only imagine how it’s affecting singers, graphic artists, and others in creative fields. This is impacting everyone, whether they realize it or not.”

Young wishes more listeners understood how simple it has become to create entire songs with platforms like Suno. He believes that many using AI for music aren’t engaging in true creativity or artistic processes, as many generative tools involve a level of automation. When discussing the detail of AI prompts, he insisted that many creators likely aren’t even crafting their own inputs. He pointed out that Suno’s Simple Mode allows users to generate songs by merely selecting a genre and clicking a button, requiring minimal thought.

Despite the disdain traditional artists may feel toward generative production, AI songs are undeniably infiltrating the mainstream. In 2024, Metro Boomin released a beat sampling comedian King Willonius’s “BBL Drizzy”—an AI track with vocals, melodies, and instrumentals generated by an AI music startup. This track went viral after Boomin shared it on SoundCloud, inviting others to rap over it. Drake later rapped over the beat on Sexyy Red’s “U My Everything,” which peaked at 44 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Fully AI-generated songs and artists are also achieving success. Last summer, Vinih Pray’s Suno-created track “A Million Colors” reached 44 on TikTok’s Viral 50 chart, while AI artists Breaking Rust and Cain Walker made it onto Billboard’s Country Digital Song Sales chart. Additionally, Hallwood Media signed AI avatar Xania Monet to a $3 million recording deal. Certain industry segments are clearly working to normalize AI-generated music, and there’s money to be made with machine-generated tracks. Estimates suggest that the top 10 most followed AI music creators on platforms like Spotify and YouTube collectively earned over $6 million in 2025. With reports indicating that AI songs now make up over 50 percent of new uploads, listeners are finding it increasingly difficult to avoid this content—if they can even distinguish it from human-made music.

Ultimately, no one can be entirely sure whether tracks were generated by AI or crafted by actual artists. AI music detection tools could offer a solution, but it’s uncertain how, or if, listeners will incorporate them into their routines. The numbers suggest that some people are indifferent to the sounds produced by AI tools. Young acknowledges that many listeners may not be adept at identifying audio slop, but he believes music lovers owe it to themselves to seek out authentic human artistry. “In my opinion, it becomes obvious that you’re listening to AI-generated music when you put on a good pair of headphones,” he said. “But many people today consume music like fast food, listening through phone speakers or using it as background noise, without caring about the quality.”