AI-generated track hits number one in Billboard US singles chart

'Walk My Walk', created by AI artist Breaking Rust, hit the top spot in Billboard's Country Digital Song Sales chart this week after garnering three million streams on Spotify in less than a month

An AI-generated track has hit the number one spot in a US singles chart. 

'Walk My Walk', released by AI artist Breaking Rust, is currently sitting at the top of Billboard's Country Digital Songs sales chart after garnering over three million streams on Spotify in less than a month and topping the streaming platform's Viral 50 chart in the US. 

Another track from Breaking Rust, 'Livin’ on Borrowed Time', reached number five in the same chart, amassing over four million streams on Spotify.

While the creator behind Breaking Rust has yet to reveal their identity, an official TikTok page for the AI artist has garnered close to 200,000 followers, with 'Walk My Walk' featuring in over 150,000 videos on the platform.

Read this next: The rise of AI music: A force for good or a new low for artistic creativity?

In a statement to ABC News, Billboard said it was aware that the track is AI-generated, pointing to its own reporting on how at least a further five AI acts have charted in recent months.

They include Xania Monet, who has reached number 3 in the Billboard Hot Gospel songs chart, and Enlly Blue, the AI-assisted artist who climbed to number 15 in the Billboard Rock Digital Song Sales chart in October.

"Ultimately, this feels like an experiment to see just how far something like this can go and what happens in the future and in other disciplines of art as well," Billboard's Senior Entertainment reporter Kelley L. Carter told ABC News. 

Mixmag merch is here: Shop the collection 

"AI artists won't require things that a real human artist will require, and once companies start considering it and looking at bottom lines, I think that's when artists should rightly be concerned about it," she added.

'Walk My Walk' isn't the only AI-generated track to top the charts this week, with a Dutch anti-migrant song from AI artist Broken Veteran reaching the top five in the Spotify Viral 50 Global Chart.

According to The Guardian, the track disappeared "just days" after it soared up the charts; Spotify claimed it was the creator behind Broken Veteran who had removed the track, though they claimed that was not the case.

Read this next: 97% of people “can’t tell the difference” between AI and human-made music, study finds

In an email to The Guardian, the creator behind Broken Veteran - who remained anonymous - said their music aimed to “express frustration with governmental policies, not with migrants as individuals,” adding their belief that AI is "valuable for people like me who have something to say but lack traditional musical training."

Earlier this week, a new study was released by French music streaming service Deezer, with research finding that 97% of people “can’t tell the difference” between AI and human-made music.

While over half of respondents (52%) said they felt “uncomfortable” in not knowing the difference between the tracks they were presented with, 66% of those surveyed said they would listen to fully AI-generated music at least once, even if just out of curiosity.

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter 

Sign up for the Mixmag newsletter

A weekly rundown of everything you need to know in music and culture

Sign me up!

Mixmag will use the information you provide to send you the Mixmag newsletter using Mailchimp as our marketing platform. You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us. By clicking sign me up you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.