Image via ROKK’s Facebook Page
On Monday, July 7, rock and metal-focused streaming service ROKK formally announced it will prohibit “fully AI-generated music” from its platform. The decision follows growing concerns over the emergence of artificial bands that have amassed millions of streams on major platforms.
The catalyst appears to be The Velvet Sundown, a fully AI-generated band that has garnered more than 1.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify. In response, ROKK has introduced a user reporting system enabling listeners to flag potentially AI-generated content, which will then be reviewed manually by the platform’s moderation team.
In a statement accompanying the announcement, ROKK said: “When fake AI bands can flood playlists and fool hundreds of thousands of listeners, it’s clear something’s broken. At ROKK, we’re drawing the line. No bots. No copycats. Just real music by real artists.”
The streaming service also shared a screen capture of The Velvet Sundown‘s Spotify profile, overlaid with a red “X” to underscore its new stance.
The rise of AI-generated music has sparked concern across the industry. As reported by Music Business Worldwide (MBW), several virtual acts – including outlaw country artist Aventhis and the metal group The Devil Inside – have attracted large followings while offering minimal or no verifiable human involvement. Aventhis, once boasting over 1 million monthly listeners, has seen a recent dip to 990,000, while The Devil Inside currently sits at 526,000 listeners and even markets branded merchandise online.
ROKK co-founder Alexander Landenburg, also known for his work as a drummer with Kamelot and Cyhra, distinguished between legitimate digital tools and deceptive practices: “It’s one thing if someone uses technology as part of their creative process… What matters is that there’s still a major and meaningful human contribution at the core.”
“But we draw the line when AI is used to create entire ‘artists’ or ‘bands’ that are completely artificial yet passed off as human, as in The Velvet Sundown,” Landenburg stated in an interview with MetalSucks. “That’s not just soulless—it’s deception. It undermines everything we stand for.”
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He added that the proliferation of AI-generated acts diminishes the value of human artistry: “Most musicians spend decades learning, practicing, failing, sacrificing, and starting over just to create something meaningful. To see that reduced to something generated in seconds from a text prompt is a slap in the face to every artist who’s put their heart and soul into their craft.”
As competitors like Deezer begin implementing AI detection tools, ROKK takes a more assertive position, urging listeners to support authentic creativity: “No Fully AI-Generated Music on ROKK. Please join us in keeping music real.”