The Velvet Sundown Hoax

Charlie Vox

Alright, welcome back to Timely Tech Takeaways. I'm Charlie Vox, and as always, I'm joined by the ever-skeptical Liam Harper. Today, we're diving into a story that's got the music world—and honestly, the tech world—buzzing: The Velvet Sundown. Liam, did you ever think we'd see the day when a band with 850,000 Spotify listeners turned out to be, well, not a band at all?

Liam Harper

Not in a million years, Charlie. I mean, I love a good prank, but this is next-level. The Velvet Sundown had everything—a groovy 1970s psychedelic vibe, album art that looked straight outta Woodstock, and these mysterious band members with names like Gabe Farrow and Orion 'Rio' Del Mar. Turns out, none of them are real. It's all AI. I gotta admit, I was fooled. Were you?

Charlie Vox

Completely. And I wasn't alone. We actually had a listener write in—shoutout to Jamie from Manchester—who said listening to The Velvet Sundown felt like discovering Pink Floyd for the first time. That’s how convincing the sound was. And it’s not just nostalgia, is it? The music was genuinely good, which is wild when you realize it was generated by AI tools like Suno. Suno basically takes text prompts and spins them into full tracks. It’s like, “Hey, give me a trippy guitar solo and some dreamy vocals,” and boom, you’ve got a song.

Liam Harper

Yeah, and the thing is, it wasn’t just the music. The whole package was so well-crafted. The backstories, the press photos—every detail was AI-generated. I mean, I’ve seen AI do some weird stuff, but this was... I dunno, almost poetic? Or maybe just a really elaborate troll. But it does make you wonder—what made it so convincing? Was it the tech, or just that people really wanted to believe in a new psychedelic band?

Charlie Vox

Bit of both, I think. The tech’s gotten scarily good at mimicking those classic sounds, but there’s also this hunger for authenticity—or at least the illusion of it. And, you know, as we talked about in our episode on AI in music, people are already used to digital manipulation in pop. But this was a step further. The AI wasn’t just helping; it was the whole band.

Liam Harper

And the irony is, the more “real” it sounded, the more people bought into the myth. I mean, 850,000 listeners! That’s not just a fluke. That’s a lot of people vibing to something that, technically, doesn’t exist. It’s kinda brilliant, kinda terrifying.

Charlie Vox

So, let’s talk about the moment the curtain got pulled back. Turns out, Gabe, Lennie, Milo, and Rio—these supposed bandmates—were all AI fabrications. The whole thing was orchestrated by a guy named Andrew Frelon, who eventually admitted it was an “art hoax.” I mean, Liam, do you think this was just a clever experiment, or did it cross a line?

Liam Harper

Oh, it definitely crossed a line—or at least, it danced right on it. I get the whole “let’s challenge what’s real” angle, but when you’ve got fans genuinely connecting with these fake personas, it gets messy. And the industry reaction? All over the place. Deezer flagged the music as 100% AI-generated, which, props to them for transparency. But Spotify? Radio silence. Not a peep. It’s like they’re hoping it’ll just blow over.

Charlie Vox

Yeah, and that’s a problem, isn’t it? If platforms don’t step up, we’re gonna see more of these “art hoaxes.” Should there be a rule that says, “Hey, if your band is made by AI, you have to tell people”?

Liam Harper

I mean, I think so. At least give people the choice to know what they’re listening to. Otherwise, it’s like, I dunno, selling tofu as steak. Not that there’s anything wrong with tofu, but you wanna know what’s on your plate, right?

Charlie Vox

That’s a terrible analogy, but I get your point. And the fallout wasn’t just about the music. Fans felt duped, and artists started speaking out. It’s not just about “is this song catchy?”—it’s about trust. And, as we saw with Deezer, some platforms are trying to get ahead of it, but others are, well, sleepwalking into an AI music crisis, as one headline put it.

Liam Harper

Yeah, and honestly, it’s not just about this one band. It’s a wake-up call for the whole industry. If you can’t tell what’s real, what does that mean for music going forward? And what about the people who pour their lives into making music the old-fashioned way?

Charlie Vox

That brings us to the big questions: ethics, regulation, and what the future looks like. The Velvet Sundown hoax really put a spotlight on how blurry the line is between human and AI creativity. And now you’ve got big names—Elton John, Dua Lipa—calling for regulation to protect human artists. They’re worried about their work being used to train AI without permission, and honestly, who can blame them?

Liam Harper

Yeah, and it’s not just about copyright, right? It’s about what we value in art. Like, if you can’t tell who—or what—made a song, does it change how you feel about it? I mean, I once got into an argument with a chatbot that wrote a poem I thought was mine. I was like, “Hey, that’s pretty good!” Then I realized, nope, it was just a bot. I felt weirdly... cheated? Or maybe just old. Charlie, you ever get that feeling?

Charlie Vox

All the time, mate. I mean, I love tech, but there’s something about knowing a real person poured their heart into a song or a story. That’s not to say AI can’t make cool stuff, but maybe we need clearer labels, or at least a conversation about what counts as “authentic.” And, as we’ve said in previous episodes, regulation’s always playing catch-up with tech. But this feels like one of those moments where we need to get ahead of it, not just react after the fact.

Liam Harper

Totally. And, look, I’m not anti-AI. I love a good robot joke as much as the next guy. But if we want a future where both humans and AI can make music, we gotta figure out the rules. Otherwise, we’re just gonna keep having these weird, existential debates every time a new “band” pops up outta nowhere.

Charlie Vox

Couldn’t have said it better. Alright, that’s all we’ve got for today’s episode of Timely Tech Takeaways. We’ll be back soon with more stories from the wild world of tech. Liam, always a pleasure.

Liam Harper

Right back at you, Charlie. And to everyone listening—keep your playlists weird, and your minds open. See you next time!