Fontaines DC vow to ban AI after Marianne controversy: 'None of us were told'

Fontaines DC plan to include a strict no-AI policy in their music video contracts after frontman Grian Chatten said the band didn't know AI would be used on the “Marianne” video until it was already out.

The acclaimed Dublin rock group announced their latest album, Dopamine Chamber, back in August, with “Marianne” as the lead single. While the song was an immediate hit, the music video drew backlash.

Directed by Dave Meyers, whose credits also include Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble” and “Sicko Mode” by Travis Scott and Drake, “Marianne” reportedly included a list of “AI artists” in its credits before it was later changed to “VFX artists” instead.

However, disgruntled fans, who had already noticed the AI credit, took to the Fontaines DC subreddit to voice their dissatisfaction with such technology being used in the video, considering the band has supported progressive causes and the arts in the past.

Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Chatten said: “I woke up at like 5.30 am the day after the video came out, and I saw an article that said there was AI used in the video, and I called our management, and I was like, ‘What the f—, is this true?’ and it turned out that there was some AI used in like the workflow or the post-production.”

Chatten explained that all the main effects in the video were created using VFX and prosthetics by a team of more than 110 people.

“But then somewhere in the process, someone from the VFX team I guess, used some kind of AI in the workflow,” he adds. “And none of us were told about it. Apparently, not even our label or our management were told about it and it was a real shock.”

Chatten goes on to say that he doesn’t condone AI and will have a ban on its use written into their contracts going forward.

The band’s new album covers themes of dystopia and politics, which he acknowledged was “f**king ironic” and “very contradictory” following the AI controversy.

Chatten concluded by warning AI is “literally rendering our souls obsolete” and we “should just shut it off”.

Away from the AI debate, Dopamine Chamber has been widely praised by music critics. In a five-star review, The Independent hailed the record as a “masterpiece from the greatest band of their generation”.

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