Timbaland cannot seem to catch a break right now as he tries to get his AI music label, Stage Zero, off the ground. Not only has he received tons of backlash for the move to further propel artificial music, but he was this close to facing legal consequences as well. As per AllHipHop, a recent formal apology from him has kept him out of trouble... for now at least.
The Virginia producer issued one on his Instagram account after being accused of stealing a beat from someone else without their consent. It belonged to K Fresh and Timbaland admitted to not doing his "due diligence" before using it.
The hitmaker was playing around with it and running it through the Suno platform to train it to replicate certain aspects of music or create its own. The beat was sent by someone else, leading to Timbaland assuming it was fully owned by them.
This led to him writing, "I’d like to formally apologize to K Fresh. I should have done my due diligence before using it. Regardless of the intent, I recognize that not everyone involved was aware or onboard, and I take full responsibility for that oversight."
Read More: Who Is India Love? The OG Instagram Baddie
Timbaland Signs AI Artist
Timbaland also clarified, "I didn’t monetize it, release it, or try to claim ownership. I was genuinely inspired and wanted to demonstrate what’s possible." Moreover, he said that it's always been his mission to "empower creatives, not to take from them."
He also mentioned that he took down the post about the demo and is frustrated that people are pushing the narrative that he's a thief.
Tynia Coats, Timbo's legal rep, acknowledged that he made a mistake. However, what he did isn't breaking any laws. "Just because something’s legal doesn’t mean it’s right. The audio is no longer on Suno’s platform."
But even with that, there's a chance that legal action still may be coming from K Fresh and his legal team. They want proof that the demo was deleted from Suno's training data. However, Coats said in her response that they aren't required to remove anything that the AI platform learned. "That part of the law hasn't caught up yet," she wrote.
So, at the end of the day, we will just have to wait and see what happens next.
Timbaland's Stage Zero label started earlier this year, and he already has an AI artist, TaTa, signed.
