Breland Calls for AI Music Labels and Revenue Redirect to Human Artists

In a recent podcast interview, Breland warns within a podcast that artificial intelligence encroaching upon songwriting and vocal production/melodies may remove a significant portion of what he feels makes country music unique — the authentic human connection behind the storytelling aspect. He also raises broader ethical, environmental, and consumer-rights concerns tied to expanding AI use across the creative industries.

"People should know whether what they're listening to is a human voice or not," says Breland on the Nashville Now podcast.

"AI is out of control. If you're trying to solve global crises and you're using AI to do that, I'm sure we could probably justify it. Anything else, we're just tearing the planet apart," he says. 

"When it comes to AI and music, to me, music is such an innately human experience… So, if we're going to take something that humans have been doing exclusively for tens of thousands of years, and is as integral as it is… how on earth would we be comfortable with that process being automated, and taking the humanity out of it?"

As AI tools gain traction in Nashville — from vocal cloning to automated lyric generation — Breland argues that listeners deserve transparency. He calls for mandatory labeling on AI-generated songs so audiences can immediately identify when a track was created with artificial intelligence rather than human performance or writing.

His second proposal targets the financial structure surrounding AI music. "My proposal is this: One, I think that AI songs should be labeled as such. And secondly, I think that the revenue from AI songs should go toward grants and scholarships for up-and-coming creatives," he said. "You're going to make money off of something that you didn't do? You're not a songwriter, so if you're not a songwriter, and you're not a producer and you're not an artist, then I don't think that you should be entitled to publishing on a song."

"And if whoever it is that's putting that song out isn't human and can't actually make any of that money itself, that money should be sprinkled to actual people who want to do something good with it," he said.