An AI-generated song featuring the simulated vocals of Drake and The Weeknd that went viral over the weekend was yanked from streaming services after Universal Music Group labeled the tune “infringing content created with generative AI.”
The song, “Heart on My Sleeve,” racked up 15 million views on TikTok, 275,000 views on YouTube and over 600,000 streams on Spotify after being posted Friday.
However, Universal on Monday demanded the sites pull the song because its creation “represents both a breach of our agreements and a violation of copyright law,” according to the BBC.
A link to the song on YouTube now says: “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Universal Music Group.”
“These instances demonstrate why platforms have a fundamental legal and ethical responsibility to prevent the use of their services in ways that harm artists,” a UMG spokersperson told The Post on Tuesday.
The song was reportedly created as a publicity stunt by a startup tech firm and posted on TikTok by a user with the handle @ghostwriter before being picked up by other streamers.
The creator claimed the track — which simulates Drake and The Weeknd trading verses about pop star and actress Selena Gomez — was made with AI software that samples the musicians’ voices.
The Weeknd and Gomez split up last year after dating for about 10 months.
At Spotify’s lowest royalty rate of $0.003 per stream, the 629,439 times “Heart on My Sleeve” was streamed generated nearly $1,900, the BBC reported.
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