The viral track featuring AI-generated voice replicas of Drake and The Weeknd has now been submitted for Grammy consideration.
In a new interview with The New York Times, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said, “It’s absolutely eligible because it was written by a human.”
That very human, the anonymous producer who goes by the name of Ghostwriter, could receive an all-important Grammy nod for the song, “heart on my sleeve,” thanks to updated Recording Academy guidelines that recognize the combined efforts of human creativity and technology working together.
“As long as the human is contributing in a more than de minimis amount, which to us means a meaningful way, they are and will always be considered for a nomination or a win,” Mason explained to the Associated Press earlier this year.
Mason continued, “We don’t want to see technology replace human creativity. We want to make sure technology is enhancing, embellishing, or additive to human creativity.”
An important distinction made by the academy is that tracks with AI voices performing the lead vocal are eligible for nomination in songwriting categories, but not in performance categories, because “what is performing is not human creation.”
A representative for Ghostwriter told The New York Times, that “heart on my sleeve” has been submitted in the Best Rap Song and Song Of The Year categories. The song’s original lyrics were written by Ghostwriter, making it eligible for any awards given to songwriters.
After “heart on my sleeve” was released in April, it was quickly removed from a number of music streaming services due to ongoing legal issues surrounding copyright and artist likeness associated with AI music.
Listen to “heart on my sleeve” below. Would you be able to tell it was AI?
Update September 11, 1:00PM
In a statement posted to Instagram, Mason has clarified that despite earlier reports, “heart on my sleeve” will not be 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,” he said.
Mason continued, “I’m sure things are going to continue to have to evolve and change. But please, please, do not be confused. The Academy is here to support and advocate and protect and represent human artists, and human creators period.”
Featured image from Grammy.com. Credit: Gabriel Bouys/AFP via Getty Images.
