Ryan Ruden: Last News

AI star FN Meka and in turn has accused Capitol Records of ghosting him after he was promised equity in the label.Kyle The Hooligan has posted notes and videos in which he claims that the Universal-owned label have left him “high and dry” and shared information that purports to prove that he is the formerly unknown voice behind the viral robot rapper.FN Meka, made in collaboration with Factory New, was dropped by Capitol less than a fortnight after launching after its critics highlighted the way the project trivialised elements of Black culture and used them for shock value. The label alluded to this in a formal apology shared online earlier this week by The New York Times’ Joe Coscarelli.Meka was marketed as the “world’s first” AI rapper to sign to a major label, with Ryan Ruden, Capitol Music Group’s executive vice president of experiential marketing and business development, saying that the project “meets at the intersection of music, technology and gaming culture” and “is just a preview of what’s to come”.Capitol released its first FN Meka single, ‘Florida Water’, on August 12, which featured guest vocals from real life rapper Gunna and ancillary involvement from gaming streamer Clix.But controversy followed when Meka, who’d garnered more than 10million TikTok followers, was seen to use the N word and appeared to make light of police brutality.

announced the “signing” of FN Meka – a virtual “robot rapper” launched by creative start-up Factory New – the Universal-owned label has shared a statement confirming it has “severed ties” with the project.Capitol Music Group announced their partnership with Factory New on August 12, with Ryan Ruden – the company’s executive vice president of experiential marketing and business development – saying the FN Meka project “meets at the intersection of music, technology and gaming culture” and “is just a preview of what’s to come”.The same day, Capitol released its first FN Meka single, ‘Florida Water’, which featured guest vocals from (real life) rapper Gunna and ancillary involvement from gaming streamer Clix. Though vocals credited to FN Meka were performed by a real human being (the identity of whom is currently unknown), the lyrics were reportedly generated by an AI-powered algorithm.Shortly after the song was released and the “signing” made public, Capitol faced backlash over its involvement with the project.

TikTok and more than a billion views on the platform, has inked a deal with Capitol RecordsThe new signing was reported by Music Business Worldwide last week, the same day FN Meka dropped his first single for the label: a song called ‘Florida Water’ that also features (real life) rapper Gunna and gaming streamer Clix. It was produced by Turbo, whose past credits have included songs with Travis Scott, Young Thug and Lil Baby.On the song, FN delivers verses like, “Tesla, Gucci, Cybertruck / I wreck that shit, don’t give a fuck.” Though the vocals are performed by a real human being, those lyrics have apparently been generated by AI, according to its creators.

About two years ago, Ryan Ruden — father of two and head of touring and events at Columbia Records — had a realization: His young children, now ages 4 and 7, didn’t yet know how to read, but they did know how to request their favorite music (including Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road”) on voice-activation devices like Amazon’s Alexa.