How Vulnerable Are Musicians to AI Cloning? Pressing Questions Emerge Following DMN Pro’s Investigation Into Unauthorized Celebrity ‘Bot Drops’

A new DMN Pro Weekly report reveals a growing problem that could reshape the music and entertainment industries—unauthorized AI celebrity bots. Across fringe online communities, fans are openly building AI-powered replicas of stars ranging from Machine Gun Kelly and Harry Styles to Pedro Pascal and the Game of Thrones character played by Emilia Clarke, Daenerys Targaryen.

These unauthorized bots are engineered to provide ongoing companionship for those interacting with them day-in and day out—sometimes replacing human companionship in the process. This report highlights how young people (especially women) are turning to platforms like character.ai to create these virtual versions of their favorite celebs.

Fans interact with these bots daily, engaging in conversations and roleplay scanarios updated to reflect real-world events in celebrities’ lives. The appeal is so strong that some superfans create exclusive communities where access to interacting with these bots is sold at a premium in private Discord groups.

As with sneaker culture or NFT launches, exclusivity demands a premium price—but virality also plays a part. DMN Pro’s report notes one bot of a characer from Netflix’s ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ film amassed over 12 million interactions since its creation this summer—proof of how quickly these unauthorized replicas can scale.

These bots are not simply text-based. Behind the scenes, creators are scraping public audio and video material, compiling enough raw content to build convincing AI voice models. They market these premium versions to superfans seeking immersion, with prices climbing depending on the realism of the voice, the depth of curated scenarios, and the celebrity’s fame level.

The implications extend far beyond novelty fandom experiments. The rise of unauthorized AI bots raises urgent questions about control of name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights, a segment that is only beginning to solidify in the music business. For living artists, the stakes are clear: loss of control over their voices, reputations, and creative identities. For labels and publishers, the issue extends to brand dilution, piracy of monetizable IP, and escalating enforcement battles.

DMN Pro Special Investigation: Fringe Communities Are Building Unauthorized AI Replicas of Celebs—Machine Gun Kelly, Harry Styles, D4vd Part of the Growing List

With unauthorized AI impersonations now touching both active stars and legacy artists, the question isn’t if the music business will act—it’s what steps come next. Stronger NIL protection is moving to the center of industry debate, and unauthorized AI celebrity bots may become the tipping point that forces long-delayed decisions.

Just yesterday, Disney took action against Character.ai by issuing a cease and desist letter asking for all of its IP to be removed from the service. Most of Disney’s popular characters (Princess Leia, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker) have been removed from the service, while bots for fringe characters like Jabba the Hutt remain.

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The full report delves deeper into the economics, social impacts, legal frameworks, and real-world case studies that are shaping the marketplace for unauthorized AI celebrity bots. Whether you’re an artist manager, publisher, privacy advocate, or developer, the complete report offers actionable intelligence.