Executives of the AI music generator Suno have withdrawn an advertising campaign appearing to show Mary J. Blige endorsing the technology.
The No More Drama hitmaker was inundated with criticism online after Suno executives released a video advert late last month starring Blige.
In the clip, the R&B singer sits in a recording studio and seems to be responding well to an AI-generated song that sounds similar to her work.
However, it has now been revealed that Blige didn’t approve the ad and Suno officials didn’t speak with her official representation.
“Ms. Blige is an icon who we all deeply admire. Ever since she broke onto the scene with What’s the 411, No More Drama, The Breakthrough, Growing Pains, etc., she hasn’t stopped innovating. That’s why we wanted to work with her,” a Suno rep said in a statement to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.
“We entered into a business deal with someone who presented themselves as Ms. Blige’s official representative. As soon as we learned this was not the case, and that Ms. Blige was uncomfortable, we terminated the advertising campaign.”
The Family Affair singer has not yet commented publicly on the Suno advert.
In the original clip, Blige is in the studio with an unnamed producer watching him build a track seemingly with the Suno technology. He adds strings and a beat per her suggestion, and the star looks impressed and responds positively as they seemingly make a music track in seconds.
This is the latest controversy for Suno executives, who are currently involved in legal action with Universal and Sony over alleged copyright infringement. In addition, singer Jason Isbell and others filed a class-action lawsuit this week claiming Suno allows its users to produce tracks based on their identities without their permission.
