Talisha Jones, a poet from Mississippi, has secured a multimillion-dollar record deal for her AI-generated R&B persona, Xania Monet. This milestone came after Monet’s songs debuted on the Billboard charts and accumulated over 10 million streams in the U.S. last week.
Jones created Monet’s identity with the help of AI tools, using Suno to produce the music. However, she emphasizes that she includes “live elements” in the process and personally writes all the lyrics. This combination of AI technology and original songwriting proved key in shaping her unique musical expression.
The contract signing sparked intense competition among record labels, but ultimately, Hallwood Media secured the $3 million deal. Some competitors, however, voiced concerns over potential copyright issues linked to Suno’s platform. Hallwood Media has previously shown interest in AI talent — in July, they signed Suno’s most popular creator, Imoliver, after his single surpassed 3 million streams.
This case marks another confirmation that the music industry is at a crossroads: while some see AI as a threat, others embrace it as a new creative force. The latest generative music models are already producing songs nearly indistinguishable from professional studio recordings, making it increasingly likely that AI music will seamlessly integrate into the mainstream streaming scene.
In brief: Tech World Highlights
- Google removed nearly 11,000 YouTube channels and accounts in Q2 2025 for spreading propaganda linked to state actors, mostly from China and Russia.
- OpenAI reports that ChatGPT receives 2.5 billion requests per day globally, with 330 million coming from the U.S. alone.
- Defense startup Hadrian raised $260 million in a Series C round led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund.
- Zeen, a collage-based social platform once popular with Gen-Z users, is shutting down, according to Business Insider.
- Elon Musk announced that his AI startup xAI will develop a child-friendly version of its chatbot, called “Baby Grok.”
AI Trending Tools:
- Jenova AI – The first AI agent developed for the MCP ecosystem.
- Aleph – A video-editing model from Runway, now available via API.
- Command A Vision – A VLM model with 112 billion parameters from Cohere, built with enterprise-level safety in mind.
