Overview

• Hallwood Media, led by former Interscope executive Neil Jacobson, is reported to have signed Xania Monet for about $3 million following a Zoom pitch to record executives.
• The AI persona’s music and image were created with Suno by poet and designer Telisha “Nikki” Jones, whose manager says Jones writes the lyrics performed by the project.
• Monet debuted on Billboard the week of Sept. 20, entering at No. 25 on Emerging Artists and No. 21 on Hot Gospel Songs with “Let Go, Let God,” while “How Was I Supposed to Know” topped R&B Digital Song Sales.
• Kehlani criticized the deal in a TikTok post, arguing AI can generate full songs without crediting underlying sources and saying, “I don’t respect it.”
• Several major labels had discussed a deal but stepped back due to their lawsuit alleging Suno trained on copyrighted catalogs, a characterization Suno disputes.