Hallwood Media has signed a recording deal with an artist persona, Xania Monet, whose music, vocals, and image are generated by artificial intelligence. The agreement, made with Mississippi-based lyricist Telisha “Nikki” Jones, highlights a growing conflict between emerging AI technology and established copyright law in the music industry.
The deal centers on an artist who has achieved notable online success, with one song surpassing one million streams on Spotify. However, because the core musical and visual components are AI-generated, legal experts question what intellectual property the record label has actually acquired, as current U.S. law does not grant copyright protection to works created solely by AI.
Key Takeaways
- Hallwood Media signed a record deal with lyricist Telisha Jones, the human writer behind the AI-generated artist Xania Monet.
- Xania Monet's music, vocals, and visual likeness are created using AI tools, specifically the music generator Suno.
- Under current U.S. Copyright Office guidelines, only the human-authored lyrics are eligible for copyright protection, not the AI-generated music or vocals.
- The AI tool used, Suno, is currently facing a lawsuit from major record labels over alleged copyright infringement in its training data.
- This case illustrates the legal and commercial uncertainties as AI-generated content becomes more prevalent in the creative industries.
A New Kind of Record Deal
The music industry is confronting a new frontier with the signing of Xania Monet, an R&B artist persona created using artificial intelligence. The deal was not made with a performer, but with Telisha Jones, the lyricist who provides the human-written words for the songs. Jones's manager, Romel Murphy, confirmed the agreement with Hallwood Media, following negotiations that reportedly included a $3 million offer, according to Billboard.
Xania Monet has built a significant online presence without a human performer. Her songs have gained traction on streaming platforms, and her Instagram Reels regularly attract over 100,000 views. Despite this popularity, the artist's visual representation is entirely AI-generated, sometimes showing digital imperfections like malformed hands in videos.
The Technology Behind the Music
Telisha Jones used the AI music generator Suno to create Xania Monet's songs. Users input lyrics and prompts, and the platform generates a complete track, including vocals, instrumentation, and composition. Suno is one of several AI music platforms currently being sued by major record labels, who allege that their models were trained on copyrighted music without permission.
The use of Suno reportedly caused other record companies to hesitate. Murphy stated that potential partners withdrew their interest after learning about the AI tool's involvement. This highlights the industry's caution regarding the legal risks associated with AI-generated music.
The Core of the Copyright Conflict
The central issue in the Xania Monet deal is copyright ownership. The U.S. Copyright Office has been clear in its guidance: copyright protection is only granted to works created by a human author. AI-generated content, by itself, does not qualify for protection.
Kevin Madigan, an SVP at the Copyright Alliance, explained the commercial implications. While anyone can sell AI-generated art, they lack the legal power to stop others from using it. "A savvy buyer who knows about copyright law will question why they should purchase something when they can get it for free," Madigan noted. He posed the question an informed party might ask: "Well, why am I paying you for this, if you have no claim in the copyright?"
Human Authorship is Key
According to the U.S. Copyright Office, prompting an AI system is not considered sufficient creative input to claim authorship over the output. For a work to be copyrighted, the human contribution must be expressive and substantial. In this case, only Jones's lyrics meet that standard.
This means that while Hallwood Media has a contract for Jones's lyrics, the musical compositions and sound recordings of Xania Monet likely fall into the public domain. Anyone could potentially use the music in a commercial or their own project without needing a license, leaving the record label with limited exclusive rights to exploit the work.
Legal Uncertainty and Industry Response
The legal framework for AI and copyright is still developing, creating what one expert calls an era of "unsettled" law. George Howard, a professor at Berklee College of Music, dismissed comparisons between AI generators and tools like autotune as a "spurious comparison." He argued that autotune modifies a human performance, whereas AI generators create the performance itself, often using vast datasets of existing music for training.
"As technology moves faster than law can accommodate, there’s this sort of lag between the settled law and the technology, and that’s where we are right now," Howard said.
On streaming platforms like Apple Music, Xania Monet is credited with vocals and production, while Telisha Jones is listed as the lyricist. However, these credits do not grant legal copyright. As of now, no copyright registrations for Xania Monet or Telisha Jones appear in the U.S. Copyright Office's public database.
Legislative Scrutiny
The legal ambiguity has not gone unnoticed by lawmakers. Concerns over the use of copyrighted works to train AI models have prompted legislative action. In July, Senator Peter Welch introduced a bill designed to increase transparency by allowing copyright holders to review the training records of AI models.
This legislative effort reflects a broader push to adapt intellectual property law to the challenges posed by generative AI. The outcome of lawsuits against companies like Suno, along with new legislation, will be critical in shaping the future of AI in music and other creative fields.
What Hallwood Media Is Actually Buying
With the music itself unprotected by copyright, the value in Hallwood Media's deal appears to lie in other areas. The label has secured the rights to Jones's songwriting, a common practice in the industry. They are also investing in the brand and persona of Xania Monet, which has already proven its ability to attract an audience.
The strategy may focus on leveraging the artist's existing popularity and brand recognition rather than traditional music licensing. By controlling the official Xania Monet channels and the creative input from Jones, Hallwood Media can continue to build the artist's career, even if the underlying musical assets are not legally protected from being copied.
This case serves as a critical test for the music industry. It forces labels, artists, and legal professionals to reconsider what it means to create, own, and sell music in an age where human creativity can be augmented or entirely replaced by artificial intelligence. The success or failure of this venture could set a precedent for how the industry handles AI-generated artists in the future.
