Boy George Founds AI Company to Empower Artists in Reclaiming Their Music Rights
Boy George, known for his provocative views, has launched an AI company aimed at helping artists regain control of their hit songs and intellectual property. This venture marks his entry into artificial intelligence, driven by the intent to
3:55 PM EDT on June 15, 2026
AX SLOVENCIK / APA / AFP via Getty Images
Boy George has not always towed the progressive party line, whether he's poo-pooing pronouns or telling Chappell Roan to cheer up . Now he's breaking another taboo by messing around with AI, albeit for reasons intended to benefit artists like himself.
The Culture Club frontman and his longtime manager Paul Kemsley (aka PK) are launching a new company called Artists Included, which will specialize in AI-assisted re-recordings, the Hollywood Reporter reports. Boy George and his bandmates have never controlled the master recordings of hits like " Karma Chameleon ." The idea of Artists Included is to use AI to replicate Boy George's younger voice and create near-identical new recordings that the artists do control — essentially a more uncanny take on the "Taylor's Version" approach.
Kemsley told THR the idea came together after a recent licensing deal for "Karma Chameleon" netted $4 million for rights-holders: "Four million changed hands. George didn’t get anything at all."
"It’s hard to get excited about something that you don’t control," George told THR . "This gives me an opportunity, not just me, but other artists, to have a different relationship with those songs." He and Kemsley say their process differs from the standard understanding of AI-generated vocals because it involves recording new vocals and then digitally de-aging them, a la the actors in The Irishman . The result, they say, is not an AI-generated vocal but a new Boy George vocal altered by high-tech digital effects.
George said upon hearing his vocals replicated, “ I was absolutely gobsmacked. It sounds like another take from that original session.” He added, "It has the sound of me at 22 years old with all the experience of everything that I’ve learned."
In other Boy George news, he and Culture Club are the subject of Boy George & Culture Club , a new documentary from director Alison Ellwood that debuted at Tribeca last year. It recently became available to rent or buy on Apple Music, and an exclusive clip is available to view at Rolling Stone .
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_Originally reported by [Stereogum](https://stereogum.com/2502381/boy-george-launches-ai-company-to-help-artists-reclaim-their-hits/news/)._
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