Frelon said he created The Velvet Sundown tracks using the generative-AI tool Suno before posting them on Spotify, where the band now has more than a million monthly listeners. Case settled, then. But apparently not.

Explaining the controversy surrounding The Velvet Sundown - the rock band that lied about being generated by artificial intelligence. How has this empty 'provocation' highlighted Spotify’s alleged dubious practices – chiefly,

So far, so good. But "savvy listeners" quickly realised "something was off". The Velvet Sundown had never performed in person, gave no interviews, and their album artwork bears the "hallmarks of generative AI". Were they even real?