According to Cointelegraph, Harvey Mason Jr., the CEO of the Recording Academy, which hosts the annual Grammy Music Awards, has clarified misconceptions about the eligibility of an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated Drake song for an award nomination. In a video posted on Instagram, Mason Jr. stated that the track is not eligible for Grammy consideration due to the vocals not being legally obtained, not being cleared by the label or the artist, and the song not being commercially available.

Mason Jr. acknowledged that the topic of AI in music is complicated and rapidly evolving, and he takes it very seriously. While music with AI components can be eligible for Grammy nominations, the track must meet specific requirements, most importantly that the part up for nomination was created by a human. For example, for a track to win an award for vocal performance, it must have been performed by a human.

In addition to the human element, the other aspect stressed by Mason Jr. is that in order to be eligible for an award, the track must be commercially available. This includes availability on major streaming platforms, such as Spotify and Apple Music. However, the track in question was removed from platforms due to its copyright violations and lack of approval from the artist and label. Labels have been advocating for platforms to be vigilant in removing content that infringes on the intellectual property of artists. Universal Music Group (UMG) and Google recently announced a collaboration to combat AI deep fakes, with negotiations for licensing melodies and vocal tracks for use in AI-generated music underway.