EDM musicians turn detective to expose AI-generated tracks
Producers Max "H4RRIS" Harris and Nihil Young are publicly calling out artists they suspect of passing off AI-generated songs as human-made, warning it undermines trust and hurts real musicians' livelihoods.
As AI-generated music floods the internet, some electronic dance music professionals have taken it upon themselves to identify and publicly call out artists they believe are hiding their use of generative tools. One of them is 26-year-old producer Max Harris, who performs as H4RRIS and posts videos flagging suspicious tracks.
Harris describes AI-generated music as a kind of "decoy art form" that lacks genuine meaning, arguing that real art comes from deliberate creative choices — from developing an initial concept through final mixing. He says AI tracks can often be identified by a telltale hissing noise in the background, along with vocals and melodic elements that stutter simultaneously, since AI models struggle to fully separate different components of a song.
In conversation, Harris named several artists whose songs he suspects may have been made with AI tools like Suno, though he acknowledged there's no definitive proof, and the artists in question have not publicly commented on the allegations.
Criticism of Suno and backlash
Harris's videos were inspired by posts from 39-year-old Italian producer Nihil Young on Threads. Young, who has previously done mixing and mastering work for Sony Music, Warner, and Universal, claims many EDM newcomers are using Suno to generate "new" songs from copyrighted originals. Speaking out against this drew hacking attempts and online harassment, along with suspicions that his Spotify follower count was manipulated to undermine his credibility — prompting him to pause his public callouts.
Young also says AI has directly hurt his income, as he has lost multiple production clients since generative tools became widely available.
AI music gains mainstream traction
Despite the criticism, AI-generated music continues to gain ground in the industry. The AI-assisted track "BBL Drizzy" went viral in 2024, and some fully AI-generated acts have reached official sales charts. Record labels have signed AI "artists" to deals, while streaming platforms like Deezer report that AI-generated songs now make up a significant share of new uploads.
