Viral band finds itself at the centre of AI claims and hoaxes
A band called The Velvet Sundown has had its tracks played hundreds of thousands of times on Spotify since appearing several weeks ago - without anyone knowing for sure what it is.
The band has a verified page on the music streaming platform, with more than 850,000 monthly listeners.
However, none of the four named musicians in the band have given any interviews or appear to have individual social media accounts, and there are no records of any live performances.
It has prompted accusations that they and their music are artificial intelligence (AI) generated - something the band denies on social media.
It did not respond to the BBC's request for an interview.
Further confusing the story, Rolling Stone US reported that the band's spokesman had admitted The Velvet Sundown's music had been generated using an AI tool called Suno - only for the magazine to report shortly afterwards that the spokesman was himself a hoax.
The man, who goes by the name of Andrew Frelon, said it was a deliberate plot to hoax the media.
A statement on the band's Spotify page says that the group has "no affiliation with this individual, nor any evidence confirming their identity or existence."
An account on X which claims to be the band's official channel, is also fake, it added.
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