Jake Andrews alleges Devin Cloutier used AI to replicate his music

The Initial Email and AI Collaboration Offer

In April, Jake Andrews received an email from Devin Cloutier, who identified himself as a singer in Kansas and the lead vocalist for a band called Our Sin, according to Andrews. Cloutier stated that the band’s previous guitarist was also named Jake Andrews and had recently died in a car crash. Cloutier asked Andrews to collaborate with Our Sin and provided a song he thought was an AI copy of Andrews’ track “Brainlock,” featuring both male and female vocals. Andrews declined the offer because he believed Our Sin’s music was artificially generated. Cloutier claimed they only used AI for the drum tracks while everything else was human-made, promising to send videos of himself singing alongside a female vocalist named Hannah Knovak. However, Andrews stated that “then came all the excuses,” including exhaustion, his wife being in bed, and a tree falling on his house, as detailed in emails provided to RNZ.

Copyright Infringement and Unauthorized Distribution

Andrews stated that he never gave Cloutier permission to release any music based on “Brainlock.” “I told him several times that he is not allowed to use it and I do not agree with what he is doing,” Andrews said. Despite these warnings, a track titled “Brain Locked” subsequently appeared on Our Sin’s YouTube page. Although Andrews had that specific video taken down, the track reappeared across YouTube, TikTok, and Spotify. When RNZ contacted Cloutier via email regarding Andrews’ plagiarism allegations, Cloutier responded that “the original riff was modified to be completely new. It is influenced by his masterful piece absolutely. We were inspired by it. However we are not directly ripping off artists.” Andrews stated that he plans to have the videos removed again.

Legal Protections and the Impact of AI on Music

Joel Tashkoff, an entertainment lawyer for Dominion Law, explained that once a musician writes or publishes an original piece of work, they automatically own the copyright. “You don’t actually need to register that copyright anywhere, as long as that lyrical melody is 100 percent yours and you haven’t taken it from anywhere, and that’s pretty much the basis of copyright globally,” Tashkoff said. For artists seeking recourse, Tashkoff advised contacting the distributor listed on infringing material. “Then you can go directly to the distributor and that distributor will have a copyright take-down process as well,” he said, adding that distributors usually remove content promptly during the review process. While music plagiarism predates the digital age, Tashkoff noted that modern AI models make copying easier because “there’s no prerequisite to have any sort of musical talent now in order to get an end result.” Andrews echoed these concerns, stating that AI is damaging the music industry. “As a musician we spend countless hours writing the song, learning the song, recording the song, making the video, editing the video, promoting the song,” Andrews said. “So much goes into it and then some loser just comes along, clicks a few buttons and claims a song as their own.” Meanwhile, Andrews’ band, Crooked Royals, continues to perform live without AI, with an upcoming show scheduled at Auckland’s Powerstation venue next month.

Questions About AI Music Plagiarism

How can musicians remove unauthorized AI tracks from streaming platforms?

Artists can contact the distributor listed on the infringing video or audio file to utilize their copyright take-down process, which typically results in the content being taken down immediately while the claim is reviewed, as explained by Joel Tashkoff.

What did Devin Cloutier say about the disputed track?

In an email to RNZ, Devin Cloutier stated that “the original riff was modified to be completely new” and that they were inspired by Andrews’ piece, adding, “However we are not directly ripping off artists.”