By Tammy Moir, Happy Mag | Not every AI music story has to end with someone yelling about robots stealing jobs. Boy George has become the latest artist to experiment with artificial intelligence, but instead of generating songs from scratch or cloning voices without permission, he’s using the technology to take ownership of his own legacy.
The Culture Club frontman has launched a new music-tech venture called Artist Included, kicking things off with a brand-new version of the band’s 1983 smash hit, Karma Chameleon.
At first glance, it might sound like another nostalgic re-recording. In reality, it’s closer to the strategy that helped Taylor Swift regain control of her catalogue through the Taylor’s Version releases.
The motivation is simple: ownership.
Like many artists who signed record deals in the 1970s and ’80s, Boy George doesn’t own the original master recording of Karma Chameleon. That means when the song is licensed for a film, television show or advertising campaign, much of the financial benefit goes elsewhere.
By creating a new master recording, George now owns this version outright. Future licensing opportunities can flow through him rather than the original rights holders.
The interesting part is how he got there.
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Read more about this happenstance here:
https://happymag.tv/boy-george-is-using-ai-to-reclaim-one-of-the-biggest-songs-of-the-80s/
Photo: Today, we celebrate Boy George’s 65th birthday and the legacy of Culture Club with a very special new recording of “Karma Chameleon”. Created in partnership with @artistincluded, this release showcases how ethical AI can help honor iconic music, celebrate the artists who created it, and introduce songs to new generations of listeners. The new recording of “Karma Chameleon” is now available to stream worldwide on all major platforms.
https://cultureclub.lnk.to/KarmaChameleonArtistIncluded
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1544100887071424&set=a.292418025573056&type=3&ref=embed_post
