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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n On Wednesday night, musician Aidan Sammut stood towards the back of Bootleggers pub in Newtown with the rest of his band as an \u201cinsult\u201d took place.<\/p>\n The act before Sammut\u2019s band had taken to the stage, and he didn\u2019t know what was worse: that the audience comprised just three punters, or that those punters were being forced to watch a set of AI-generated music.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were curious and also disgusted [by the set] and discussing how it\u2019s crazy that this is actually happening, and that this is potentially a thing now,\u201d Sammut said.<\/p>\n On stage was a solo man dancing and singing portions of a song that Sammut alleges was AI-generated. Most of the music was sung by a female-sounding voice.<\/p>\n \u201cWe left the room just because we didn\u2019t really want to see it or support it in any sort of way,\u201d Sammut said. \u201c[We wondered] how that actually sort of slipped through the gaps and how it was allowed to be booked.\u201d<\/p>\n The day before the gig, Sammut was rehearsing with his band Genevieve when he received a text message from a member of another band on the bill, alerting him that an AI creator was on the line-up.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a look through the account at the rehearsal, and realised it\u2019s all AI-generated visuals, and we listened to the music, and we were fairly certain it was AI-generated, and then we looked through the rest of his account, and he talks about having virtual songwriters and performers \u2026 we were kind of shocked.<\/p>\n \u201cWe thought about even pulling out of the gig, which the other band was considering, but we decided to go ahead because it was quite last-minute, and we didn\u2019t want to let the AI artists win.\u201d<\/p>\n That feeling of disgust didn\u2019t subside. Sammut decided to record and upload a video about the performance to Instagram on Thursday afternoon, saying it felt insulting to be featured in a line-up alongside an act using mostly AI-generated music.<\/p>\n As of Friday noon the video<\/a> had accumulated more than 200,000 views, 1000 reposts and hundreds of comments.<\/p>\n On Thursday night, booking agency Good Intent and the venue Bootleggers released a joint statement, apologising and taking accountability for booking an act whose content was \u201cclearly and blatantly AI\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll take full responsibility,\u201d Good Intent\u2019s Rob Carroll said in the statement<\/a>. \u201cI didn\u2019t look at this particular artist\u2019s socials, and their representative\u2019s communication used wording consistent with genuine artists. Their representative described them to us as a \u2018producer\u2019 who used \u2018live vocals\u2019 in their sets.\u201d<\/p>\n Good Intent booked the artist for Bootleggers, which then approved the artist and promoted the event called \u201cMixed Bag\u201d, which features emerging local talent. The statement said Good Intent and Bootleggers have \u201cnever knowingly, and never, [will] book people who use AI to generate music\u201d.<\/p>\n Rory Summers, who runs Bootleggers and previously ran Chippendale\u2019s Lansdowne Hotel, said the venue did not make money from its Wednesday night gigs. \u201cWe\u2019re really just doing it to keep our community around and give people a platform and a stage,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s upsetting to us that this has happened.\u201d<\/p>\n Summers said Good Intent used the online platform OneStop to find the act, and that once they were selected, were in direct communication with the act\u2019s manager, who made no mention of AI.<\/p>\n \u201cLive music has been a massive part of my career, and I don\u2019t like that AI trains its models on data stolen from artists and \u2026 I don\u2019t like that it happened here, I mean, no one\u2019s happy about it,\u201d he<\/p>\n The Herald approached the musician (whom the Herald has chosen not to name) for comment, but did not hear back ahead of deadline. However, in an email to the booking agency obtained by this masthead, the musician admitted to performing AI-generated music.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 1982, the musicians\u2019 union tried to ban synthesisers and drum machines because they argued that the technology would replace people. Nowadays, there would hardly be any songs \u2026 in the top 40 or dance floors across the world that doesn\u2019t [sic] use at least one synthesiser or drum machine,\u201d the performer wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cOur industry is constantly being broken by technological change. In fact, the breaking up of the music-making method is the only constant thing across the years.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I do use AI in my production process, a process that has helped me \u2026 to build a musical base, so I can sing live in public and broadcast the messages that I have written into the lyrics. Despite what you may have heard, it is not easy to create quality music in this manner and still takes many hours, days and weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n Summers said it was never disclosed to Bootleggers that the artist uses AI to create music and that a stricter screening policy is in place for future bookings and promotions.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Sydney](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/95f250ce31e2135879a5033f9fb82060c86a8bc2.jpeg\")
Sydney musician Aidan Sammut, who plays in the band Genevieve. KATE GERAGHTY<\/p>\n![\"As](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/86971020a94860189564e9c072c1d09c7078d7c8.jpeg\")
As a musician, Sammut said it felt like an \u201cinsult\u201d to watch an act perform live using a mostly AI-generated track.KATE GERAGHTY<\/p>\n![\"Kayla](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8c115ae7ce966009121f78346f9081b2fa2155d8db17a27ec86aa7bafbd296bf.png\")
Kayla Olaya<\/a> is a culture reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners