Scammers Exploit AI-Generated Frank Ocean Tracks to Swindle Thousands of Dollars

AI-generated music imitating prominent artists is making headlines once again, as a recent collection of counterfeit Frank Ocean tracks reportedly sold for $13,000 CAD ($9,722 USD) on a music-leaking forum dedicated to the Grammy-winning singer. This follows last month’s widely discussed AI-related controversy involving music by Drake and The Weeknd.

As generative AI technology surges in popularity—illustrated by Google’s extensive focus on it during its recent I/O 2023 keynote—unscrupulous individuals are seizing the opportunity to profit before copyright regulations catch up. This trend has also posed challenges for Spotify, which recently removed not only the fraudulent Drake tracks but thousands of other AI-generated songs after receiving complaints from Universal Music.

The scam artist, known by the handle mourningassasin, revealed to Vice that they enlisted someone to produce approximately nine songs using high-quality vocal snippets of Ocean's voice. They initially shared a clip from one of the fake tracks, quickly garnering belief in its authenticity among forum users. "Instantly, I noticed everyone started to believe it," mourningassasin stated. The anticipation surrounding Ocean's rumored new album, his first since 2016, likely fueled the excitement.

The scammer noted that several interested buyers reached out privately, willing to pay handsomely for the tracks—reportedly fetching between $3,000 and $4,000 for each song in late April. However, mourningassasin has since been banned from the forum, which is grappling with the rise of AI-generated music and its impact on credibility. The owner of a related Discord server commented on the situation, noting, "This has significantly damaged our server’s credibility and will lead to distrust among new and unverified sellers in these communities."