Tedeschi Trucks Band apologized to fans on Sunday following an online uprising over a tour poster that appears to have been generated by artificial intelligence.
“We would like to apologize to the artist community for finding ourselves in this unfortunate situation,” the band said posted on his Instagram account Sunday, after a pair of shows at Red Rocks Amphitheater on July 26 and 27, where the poster was sold as an artist-made work. “Going forward, we will refine our review process to prevent this from ever happening again.”
The band added that they will donate all proceeds from the sale of the poster to Access to Galler, a Denver-based nonprofit art studio focused on people with disabilities. Tedeschi Trucks Band sells prints of its tour and show posters online for $35-$75, according to its website.
The flap is the latest example of a creative group saying it was duped by a supposedly AI-generated artwork. Some fans questioned Dead and Company online in May for using a suspected AI poster for the May 18, 2024 concert at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
An Instagram account called AI Cop regularly posts images of suspected AI concert posters – including the Dead and Company image – with other promotional images endorsed by Brandi Carlile, The Dead South, System of a Down, Dave Matthews Band and Primus, as well as festivals such as Alma’s Elevation.
Some have argued that AI robs jobs from real artists and offers an aesthetically hideous, creepy alternative that rips off existing art. Others, like Colorado designer Jason Allen, have sued the U.S. Copyright Office over AI-assisted work, claiming the human element offers the same legal protections as other creatives and designers.
That parallels a series of social media accounts and online services openly offering AI products aimed at generating concert posters, and a backlash against AI skeptics that portrays them as joyless nitpickers. (Fans rightly pointed out that the background in the Tedeschi Trucks poster looks nothing like Red Rocks). The image was created by Brilliant workshopwhich describes itself as an artist collective and design/print studio.
“We would like to express our gratitude for our fans’ concern for the creative community,” the band said in an Instagram post. “During our development process, we believed we were giving an artist with a renowned portfolio in other disciplines or art a first opportunity to create a gig poster.”