An AI-generated country song has reached the Number One spot on a US Billboard singles chart. The track, 'Walk My Walk', released by the AI artist Breaking Rust, currently tops Billboard's Country Digital Songs sales chart after garnering over three million streams on Spotify in less than a month.
The song also leads Spotify's 'Viral 50' chart in the US, while another Breaking Rust track, 'Livin' on Borrowed Time', has reached Number Five on the same chart with over four million streams. The creator of Breaking Rust has not yet revealed their identity, but an official TikTok page has amassed nearly 200,000 followers, with 'Walk My Walk' featured in over 150,000 videos on the platform.
This is not the first instance of AI-generated music achieving significant streaming numbers. Earlier this year, the AI 'band' The Velvet Sundown gained around 400,000 monthly Spotify listeners in less than a month, though its creator later admitted it was a hoax aimed at the media. Another AI artist, Xania Monet, signed a multimillion-dollar record deal and became the first AI artist to chart on US Billboard rankings.
The rise of AI in music has sparked controversy. Artists including Kehlani, Mac DeMarco, and SZA have criticised the technology, while ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus called it 'a great tool'. In September, Cardiff rock group Holding Absence hit out at an AI 'band' that overtook them on Spotify, with frontman Lucas Woodland calling it 'a wake up call'.
A report from French streaming service Deezer found that 97 per cent of people cannot distinguish between real and AI-generated music, and only 19 per cent said they trust AI. A recent study warned that music industry workers could lose a quarter of their income to AI over the next four years. In response, Spotify has removed 75 million 'spammy tracks' and strengthened protections for artists.
