If it ain’t Drake, don’t fix it

“Heart on My Sleeve”, a new Drake song featuring The Weeknd went viral last weekend. Which isn’t surprising – Drake and The Weekend are both huge artists with millions of fans. Except it wasn’t actually by Drake, nor did it actually feature The Weeknd.

Sure, it features both of their voices, but neither of the artists went anywhere near a microphone to contribute to the track. It was written and recorded by an anonymous TikTok user, @ghostwriter977, who created AI versions of Drake and The Weeknd’s voices and added them to the track. It sounds unmistakably like them.

This wasn’t the only Drake-related AI controversy this weekend: someone else made an AI Drake rap to an Ice Spice track, which Drake reposted to his Instagram story, adding that the copy of his voice was “the final straw” for AI.

But it’s not going to be the final straw for AI

In fact, it’s the very beginning of things just like this happening.

In the last year, we’ve seen artists sue AI companies for training their large language models on their work, and people using AI to turn Disney characters into real-looking people.

Now that the world has access to these models, which themselves are still in their infancy despite being incredibly powerful already, people are absolutely going to use them to create their own entertainment in the future; think Ariana Grande singing Killing in the Name or Buzz Lightyear making a cameo in a Bond movie.

Brands and owners of IP have two ways to respond; fight or embrace. In Drake’s case, Universal Music responded with the former.

Since Heart on My Sleeve broke this weekend, I’ve not been able to find it anywhere online – Universal Music Group issued takedown notices to Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube and anywhere else hosting the track.

To a good brand manager used to protecting IP and looking after brand codes, at first glance this makes sense. Universal Music Group are obviously interested and invested in keeping Drake’s likeness to themselves; it’s an incredibly valuable asset.

Aside from whether they can legally enforce takedown notices (which Ben Thompson excellently explores over at Stratechery and argues that they, actually, cannot), I wonder whether this is a huge missed opportunity for Drake and the Group.

An accidental PR coup

There’s no doubt this weekend was a massive PR win for Drake, even if it was completely unintentional and nothing to do with him. He’s become news-worthy by becoming central to a huge trend that everyone’s talking about.

The song went viral because the AI in the song is so convincingly Drake. It then went viral again after Universal Music Group issued takedown notices, which actually drives more demand because it’s buzzy and people want it as a result.

This all drives up Drake’s fame and putting him, once again, in the spotlight without lifting a finger himself.

If it ain’t Drake, don’t fix it

Putting aside the fact that I am comically unlike Drake (I am a British marketer, he is a Canadian worldwide superstar), I do have some advice for him that I reckon would work. At his next gig, he should play the song himself.

Embrace it rather than fight it. Drake fans and the music world will go wild.

Someone at the gig will obviously share it on TikTok and that video will go viral.

Later, he should do a Taylor Swift and record a (Drake’s Version) of the song, and release it on Spotify and Apple Music.

The fact is, there is no escape from AI now. It’s out of the bag. And musicians, artists and even brand managers either embrace it and work with it, and incorporate it into strategy… or get left behind.

Everyone’s a creator now

In this new AI-enabled world, it’ll be easier than ever to create stuff. You don’t need to be creative to be a creator anymore; just type a prompt and you’ve got your art.

Brands need to be ready for this world. It means people can play with your IP and brand codes in a way they’ve never been able to before. Expect sweary Disney characters and risqué new Nike ads that weren’t paid for by Oregon.

AI will need open minds and reactive thinking from marketers. We literally have no idea what AI will unlock for brands yet, yet in the Drake case, it’s pretty clear what’ll work in driving more fame and love for his brand.

So if your brand gets hijacked by someone playing with AI, try not to rush to the legal action button immediately.

Think about how you can join in, try not to take it too seriously and have some fun.