Frontman speaks out after AI-band modelled on his group overtakes them on Spotify: “Oppose AI music, or bands like us stop existing”

Posted On October 2, 2025October 2, 2025

Lucas Woodland, singer with the Welsh rock band Holding Absence, has said he finds it “disheartening” that an AI-band modelled on his group has surpassed their listenership on Spotify.

Holding Absence formed in 2015 and have spent that time organically growing their fanbase, which has seen them gain 850,000 unique monthly listeners on Spotify. However, an AI group named Bleeding Verse, which cites Holding Absence as an influence, has now gained 900,000 listeners on the same platform.

The bio for Bleeding Verse on Spotify describes the band’s work as “cinematic alt-metal anthems for the emotionally undone” and says “little is known about the faces behind Bleeding Verse, and that’s by design.”

It then concludes by saying, “Bleeding Verse isn’t here to be seen. It’s here to be felt. Human lyrics, turned to songs with AI.”

While Holding Absence aren’t mentioned on Spotify, Bleeding Verse’s YouTube channel description reads, “Inspired by artists like Dayseeker and Holding Absence, we blend ambient textures, soaring vocals, and poetic lyricism to explore grief, identity, and healing. Lyrics from the heart. AI assisted instrumentation and vocals.”

Their first release came in July, and over the last two months, they have shared a string of singles as well as the full-length album, I Became What You Broke.

Now, Holding Absence’s frontman Woodland wrote on X: “So, an AI ‘band’ who cite us as an influence (ie, it’s modelled off our music) have just overtaken us on Spotify, in only TWO months.”

His rallying call to fans continued, “It’s shocking, it’s disheartening, it’s insulting – most importantly – it’s a wake up call. Oppose AI music, or bands like us stop existing.”

In another post, Woodland said there are many ways that the musical community can come together to prevent AI from taking a stranglehold on the industry, stating, “I believe we can only lobby for transparency now. Those artists should have AI on their Spotify artwork, so that playlists can’t sneak them onto playlists. Otherwise, violently support real music. Buy merch. Attend shows. That’s the most we can do for now.”

AI is not only impacting the music industry, but Hollywood, too. Earlier this week, SAG-AFTRA published a statement condemning the potential attempts to sign the AI-generated actor Tilly Norwood to a major agency.

The industry body wrote: “The union is opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics. To be clear, ‘Tilly Norwood’ is not an actor, it’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers — without permission or compensation.”

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