PARTNERSHIPS | COMMUNITY | PODCAST | FRIENDS
Hallwood Media Signs An AI Artist
Xania Monet // Courtesy of IG
Hallwood Media signed a $3 million contract with an upcoming R&B artist named Xania Monet… who happens to be mostly AI-generated.
Why It (Doesn’t Hit): AI-generated artists are now officially upon us. While most labels backed out of signing Xania — whose real identity is Mississippi-based songwriter Telisha “Nikki” Jones — Hallwood Media’s willingness to put her on its roster could give other labels the go-ahead to make similar deals if she’s embraced by fans and brings in significant streaming revenue.
Behind The Music: What is Hallwood getting from signing Xania Monet?
Jones writes the lyrics herself but uses AI for everything else — including the music generator Suno to create the songs. She claims full ownership of both the songwriting and production credits.
The problem is that AI-created work isn’t copyrightable without significant human editing — potentially leaving only her lyrics legally protected.
So, Jones and Hallwood could now face litigation or, at the very least, complex rights negotiations — especially since Suno is currently being sued by three major labels.
Final Mix: Despite the controversy, Xania Monet has 9.8 million streams on US services, and her top single, “How Was I supposed to Know?,” has popped up on three Billboard charts. There’s no denying that she has a following, which is why her manager is now fielding publishing offers and is even planning a live performance (expect holograms to be involved).
Next Generation: With Spotify cracking down on AI-generated spam, labels may need to ensure any deepfake artists they sign pass a clear quality litmus test — potentially putting their investments in real human artists at greater risk.
Together with Superhuman AI
The Gold standard for AI news
AI will eliminate 300 million jobs in the next 5 years.
Yours doesn't have to be one of them.
Here's how to future-proof your career:
Join the Superhuman AI newsletter - read by 1M+ professionals
Learn AI skills in 3 mins a day
Become the AI expert on your team
PARTNERSHIPS | COMMUNITY | PODCAST | FRIENDS
Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Polled and Copy-edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.