NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Artificial intelligence is transforming industries across the board, and now it's making waves in country music. An AI-generated track has garnered millions of streams online, igniting heated discussions during CMA Awards week about the future of authentic country music.
On Lower Broadway in Nashville, music pulses through the neon lights and crowds of visitors, including Felicia Smith and her daughter from Decatur County, who came to see the CMA Awards. For Smith, the trip represents more than entertainment — country music is her livelihood.
"I work for WKJQ, 97.3 FM, in Parsons, Tennessee," Smith said.
When she first noticed a song called "Walk My Walk" by Breaking Rust climbing the charts, she didn't think much of it initially.
"I didn't really listen to it because I didn't know the name. But then I did listen to it, and I listened to the song before I knew, and it sounded like a real country song," Smith said.
However, "Walk My Walk" isn't performed by an up-and-coming artist. In fact, it isn't sung by a person at all. Both the performer and the track were created entirely by artificial intelligence, and for days, it sat at the top of Billboard's country digital sales chart.
Smith's reaction was immediate and passionate.
"It killed it, it killed the whole song. Killed the song. That's not a real person. That's not country music. That's not what country music is built on. That is not a song that will ever play on my radio station," Smith said.
The debate extends beyond radio professionals to established artists. At the BMI Awards, Billy Bob Thornton expressed strong opposition to AI in music creation.
"If you take the human out of songwriting, I think you're going down the wrong road. I do not like A.I. The only thing to me A.I. is good for, that I've seen, is to watch somebody animate you riding with a cat on a skateboard or something, beyond that, I don't believe in it," Thornton said.
To demonstrate how accessible AI music creation has become, Smith's daughter created a country song in under a minute using just an app, a few words, and a genre selection.
Artists are also grappling with these technological changes.
"It's definitely scary. I think in a lot of ways, for me, I've talked to a lot of people where they're not really worried about it, not really scared about it," Troy Brooks said.
Singer-songwriter Troy Brooks says AI is already reshaping the music industry.
"But to me, is a little bit scary. Are there eventually going to be AI concerts, and some people might think that sounds crazy, but the way everything is going, I can definitely see that being a thing," Brooks said.
Despite his concerns, Brooks believes one element remains irreplaceable.
"No matter what, AI is not going to be able to have the human element, so I think, as far as live performance, the human element always can be there," Brooks said.
The CMA Awards aired recently, and artists throughout the week expressed similar frustrations about using artificial intelligence to write and perform songs. However, public knowledge of Breaking Rust's AI origins doesn't appear to be dampening its success.
Breaking Rust's most popular song on YouTube, "Livin' on Borrowed Time," now has more than 5 million views and thousands of streams on Spotify. According to Billboard, at least six AI or AI-assisted artists have debuted on various Billboard rankings in recent months alone.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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