Boy George Launches AI Venture to Help Artists Reclaim Their Hits

Culture Club frontman Boy George has launched a new AI-assisted company called Artists Included, which seeks to help legacy acts create artist-owned versions of their biggest hits.

The genesis:

• According to The Hollywood Reporter, the idea was formulated by George and his manager Paul Kemsley after a Virgin anniversary campaign licensed Culture Club’s 1983 hit “Karma Chamelon” for roughly $4 million, of which George didn’t see a penny.

The details:

• Artists Included has launched with a newly recorded version of “Karma Chameleon.”

• The Reporter says that while George recorded a new vocal performance, it was subsequently processed using an AI model trained on archival recordings of his voice to recreate the sound of his younger self.

• The goal is to create a new recording that George owns and controls, allowing it to compete for future sync licensing opportunities.

• Artists Included plans to make the technology available to other heritage acts whose biggest recordings remain controlled by record companies.

Legal grey spot:

• While Taylor Swift’s ‘Taylor’s Version’ re-recordings – the inspiration for Artists Included – are new copyrighted works she owns outright, the legal landscape around AI-assisted re-recordings remains murky.

• As The Reporter points out, questions around who owns AI-assisted re-recordings have yet to be tested in court.

What they said:

• Boy George (as per The Hollywood Reporter): “It’s hard to get excited about something that you don’t control. This gives me an opportunity, not just me, but other artists, to have a different relationship with those songs.”