San Francisco–based AI startup Higgsfield has unveiled Higgsfield Records, a venture it is calling the “world’s first AI record label.” The label’s debut act is Kion, an AI-created K-pop idol introduced in a music video and teaser clips across the company’s platforms. The company has also invited applications from anyone interested in becoming an AI idol, asking users to quote-tweet its announcement and fill out a Typeform application.
Even as this announcement comes in the wake of a burgeoning AI music landscape mired in controversy, the most contentious part of this particular rollout is the label’s tagline: “You don’t need talent anymore. Your face is enough.” Reducing stardom to a little more than appearance undermines the very skills that drive music culture: writing, performing, and connecting with audiences.
Founded by former Snap generative-AI lead Alex Mashrabov, the imprint sits under Higgsfield AI, a startup that raised $8 million in seed funding led by Menlo Ventures in April 2024 to build mobile-first, human-centric video tools, according to reports by TechCrunch and the company’s press release. Its current toolset includes Soul/Soul ID for consistent digital doubles and Talking Avatars (lip-sync and motion), detailed across Higgsfield’s product pages and blog.
While Higgsfield positions itself as the first AI record label, many virtual idols and labels have already set precedents. Projects like Mave: (Metaverse Entertainment) and Eternity, launched in South Korea in 2021, also leaned on AI to create their performers and release multiple singles. Meanwhile, Plave has become one of the most successful hybrids, with human singers performing through animated avatars—a model that’s helped the group chart, sell out concerts, and build a loyal fanbase. In June 2025, producer Timbaland also launched Stage Zero, an AI-focused venture that introduced an AI “artist” named TaTa.
What separates Higgsfield from these examples is its framing. Mave: markets its futuristic concept while still highlighting vocal performances built by human producers, and Plave makes it a point to credit the singers behind its avatars. Netflix’s K-Pop Demon Hunters, a hybrid chart-topping project, shows that even fictional bands can succeed when human artists power the singing, songwriting, and storytelling. Higgsfield, by contrast, suggests a vision of pop where artistry is secondary to a digital face, an approach that risks alienating both fans and musicians.
Ultimately, the future of pop should be shaped by technology that deepens, rather than cheapens, the connection between artist and audience, instead of reducing artistry to little more than a digital facade.
How Higgsfield and other similar ventures navigate this balance could determine whether AI becomes a real tool for creativity or a shortcut that erodes it entirely.
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