The Juno Awards say a controversial 鈥渄eep fake鈥� song featuring unauthorized sound-alike vocals of Drake and the Weeknd won鈥檛 be eligible at next year鈥檚 celebration of Canadian music.

The organization鈥檚 president Allan Reid said that newly introduced 鈥淎I Eligibility鈥� rules lay out the basics of how artificial intelligence can be used in making songs 鈥� and the popular mashup of the two famed Toronto singers doesn鈥檛 meet the requirements.

鈥淚t鈥檚 鈥楧rake and the Weeknd鈥� 鈥� but that鈥檚 not them,鈥� Reid told The Canadian Press.

鈥淭hat is not their voices; those are AI-generated voices.鈥�

Before submissions for the 2024 Junos open on Monday, leadership has clarified that eligible recordings can use AI, but that it can鈥檛 be the 鈥渟ole or core component鈥� of the project.

Exactly what that means is still up for some interpretation, Reid conceded. He described this as 鈥渧ery much a learning year for us鈥� with the established rules as 鈥渁 baseline鈥� to work from.

鈥淲e want to make sure that we have humans being recognized,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 be awarding an AI project a Juno.鈥�

The new criteria come as the music industry contends with a fast-evolving technology that鈥檚 flooded the internet with 鈥渄eep fake鈥� songs which use computer-generated voices that mimic the real artists.

鈥淗eart on My Sleeve,鈥� a song created by a producer who calls himself Ghostwriter and who to Reid鈥檚 understanding is not Canadian, rattled the music industry earlier this year with its convincing performances by fake versions of Drake and the Weeknd.

Its release led record industry giant Universal Music Group, distributor of both Canadian artists, to issue takedown notices to music streamers. They released a statement calling unauthorized AI-made songs 鈥渁 breach of our agreements and a violation of copyright law,鈥� while the Grammys recently clarified the song would not be eligible at its awards show.

However, not every case is unauthorized.

More recently, Vancouver-born musician Grimes issued voice-modelling software that allows fans to add her to their music, as long as they split the royalties with her.

Reid says both examples could lead to different outcomes at the Junos.

鈥淗eart on My Sleeve鈥� would鈥檝e never been eligible for the awards, he said, since its creator isn鈥檛 Canadian and neither vocalist was involved. The song also wasn鈥檛 commercially released since it was unauthorized.

Grimes is a somewhat different case, he added. Her vocals are AI-created and therefore not technically real, which means they鈥檙e not eligible. However, if the human producer who used her voice software is Canadian then the Junos would take 鈥渁 deeper look鈥� at the case.

Submission forms do not directly ask if AI technology was used in the creation, said Liz Morgante, senior manager of the academy鈥檚 operations. However, any projects that raise questions will be reviewed by the Junos music advisory committees.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no question AI is going to revolutionize how music is created,鈥� Reid added.

鈥淎nd with the rate that things are changing 鈥� it鈥檚 hard for us to predict where things will land in the future, which is why we need to take initial steps and learn as this evolves.鈥�

The Juno Awards take place March 24, 2024 in Halifax.

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