Jorja Smith may be the headline story for AI-music news today, but there is plenty of other activity to report on.
The Band Black is a fascinating project featuring James Alexander, the sole surviving member of Otis Redding’s backup band The Bar-Kays. The Band Black aims to “revive the R&B band tradition” with a group performing “AI-assisted arrangements” in their live shows.
Here’s how its announcement explains the plans: “AI helps create songs with fresh inspiration and complex arrangements that challenge musicians. Every song refined by human touch.” Public auditions will be held for musicians to play those songs live, with the process documented on TikTok and YouTube. Q2 2026 is set for the tour’s debut.
Also in the news today: a row is breaking out between startup Hook Music and Suno over the ‘Hooks’ feature the latter launched earlier this year. It helps people to create short videos for their GenAI tracks. Hook Music is unhappy about the trademark implications.
“They are introducing a feature that appears to replicate one of Hook’s core experiences at the very moment the industry is converging on the rights-respecting model Hook has championed from the start,” it claimed in a blog post, adding that it is “considering all appropriate responses, including legal avenues, if necessary”.
Finally, AI-search firm Cyanite has published its ‘The State of AI Transparency’ report, based on a survey of 144 music supervisors, filmmakers and advertisers. It found 49% saying they will only license human-made music (which means 51%… would not have that restriction?) but that 97% want transparency around whether music is AI or human-made. You can get the full report here.
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