Timbaland’s New Artist Is An AI-Generated Asian Woman
Renowned producer Timbaland has launched his own AI entertainment company, Stage Zero, with its first artist, TaTa. The company was co-founded with his creative partner, Zayd Portillo, and film producer Rocky Mudaliar, according to Rolling Stone.
Timbaland will handle most of the production for this new artificial intelligence venture, calling the new genre “A-Pop.”
“I’m not just producing tracks anymore,” Timbaland said in a statement. “I’m producing systems, stories, and stars from scratch. [TaTa] is not an avatar. She is not a character. TaTa is a living, learning, autonomous music artist built with AI. TaTa is the start of something bigger. She’s the first artist of a new generation. A-Pop is the next cultural evolution, and TaTa is its first icon.”
A-Pop’s First Star TaTa
TaTa and other artists from Stage Zero will have their music created through a collaborative process between human creators and the AI music platform Suno. Timbaland will upload conventional demos to the system, and then Suno will process them and add human-written lyrics.
TaTa will have a social media presence and music videos, which will be produced using various AI video tools. She’ll be the first in a lineup of personas as the company hopes to have several characters that become virtual influencers.
Response from the music industry
Timbaland has consistently supported the use of AI in the music industry. “What used to take me three months only takes me two days” he told Billboard in April. “In the beginning, it was like a toy. It was like going to a toy store. You gotta go through gluttony, because you can’t believe that it’s here.”
But his recent move has received backlash from people in the music industry. “When you’ve been grinding for years, learning your craft, sacrificing time with family, and pouring your soul into every beat… seeing major figures turn to AI like it’s the next big thing feels like a slap in the face.” Producer Wes Beats said.
Producer and audio engineer Young Guru expressed his disappointment, commenting on Timbaland’s Instagram post debuting his new AI artists: “I have students who worship you. They are going to say, ‘if Tim can do it, then it is ok for me to do it.’ These are the times, right here, that history is defined .. Human expression can never be reduced to this!!! This is way bigger than music!!! I say this all in love.”
Ethical and legal challenges
Timbaland is also facing criticism over his decision to create an AI-generated artist that appears to a young woman of Asian descent. “I just found out/saw a picture of this AI artist and she’s Asian? Named Tata and will likely have an urban/r&b sound. Timbaland should be ashamed,” said one X user.
“This is literal cultural appropriation,” wrote another user on Reddit. “Making artists of other colours and nationalities in the computer so the money made goes to other people.”
“There are SO many pop artists from Asia / of Asian decent that would kill to be produced by a big name like Timbaland,” another user responded.
Major labels have also filed lawsuits against Suno and competitor Udio for using copyrighted material in their training data. Recent reports suggest that a settlement may be reached. Artists such as Billie Eilish and Stevie Wonder have signed open letters stating that AI is a threat to human creativity.
Image: Stage Zero
