SAMPLEDBoy George just re-recorded Karma Chameleon with ethical AI — meet Artist Included, the company betting artists win this round
Founded by Paul "PK" Kemsley and Jeremy Rosen, Artist Included launches with a BMG-partnered reborn Karma Chameleon and a business model built entirely around creator ownership.
Every mainstream conversation about AI in music has been framed as "artists vs machines." A new Los Angeles company wants to erase that framing entirely. On June 15, 2026, Artist Included (opens in a new tab) launched with a mission that is refreshingly plain: help legendary artists reclaim creative participation, ownership, and long-term value in their music. And the launch record — a reborn recording of Culture Club''s Karma Chameleon featuring Boy George (opens in a new tab) in partnership with BMG (opens in a new tab) — is the proof of concept.
Stream the new Karma Chameleon here (opens in a new tab) or watch the visualizer on YouTube (opens in a new tab).
What Artist Included actually is
Founded by entrepreneur Paul "PK" Kemsley and entertainment attorney / film producer Jeremy Rosen, Artist Included is an artist-first music and technology company built around ethical, artist-approved voice AI. The model is deliberately narrow:
- Work with legendary artists — 1960s through 2000s
- Reimagine classic recordings and create new, artist-owned masters
- Unlock modern commercial opportunities: sync, film, TV, advertising, gaming, brand partnerships, exclusive vinyl, D2F campaigns, foreign-language versions, remixes, tokenization, Dolby Atmos, trailerized formats
Crucially, the AI is not doing the singing. Boy George performed the new Karma Chameleon vocal live in the studio — Artist Included''s technology partner Syntiant (opens in a new tab) provides the artist-approved audio processing that supports the final recording rather than replacing the artist.
Why the Karma Chameleon launch is the perfect first move
Three reasons the choice is smart:
- It is a globally beloved catalog record with room for a fresh 2026 sonic pass
- Boy George performed the new vocal himself, immediately disarming the "this is just AI" reflex
- It is timed to his 65th birthday, giving it the kind of story-first press moment ethical-AI launches almost never get
"Revisiting Karma Chameleon in this way was emotional and creatively inspiring," Boy George said at launch. "The goal was never to replace the original — it was to celebrate it and let the song keep evolving for new audiences."
The founding thesis
CEO PK Kemsley did not soften the pitch: "For decades, artists created the soundtrack to our lives while much of the long-term value moved away from the original creators. Artist Included was built to help reverse that dynamic. This is not about replacing artists or exploiting old catalogs — it is about helping artists create new ones. Used responsibly, AI can become one of the most powerful creative tools the music industry has ever seen."
Co-founder Jeremy Rosen added: "The future of AI in music must put artists at the center — creatively, ethically and economically. Artist Included is building a model where artists control and participate directly in the future value created from their music, voice, brand and legacy. All ego aside, we are shifting the narrative from piracy to partnership; a timely AI reframe."
The team backing it
The launch line-up is unusually stacked for a company on day one:
- Robert Earl, founder of Planet Hollywood (opens in a new tab) — Chairman of the Board
- Kurt Busch, CEO & co-founder of Syntiant (opens in a new tab) — Board Member
- Antony Antoniou — capital strategy and investment
- Rob Guthrie — longtime record-label and music-publishing executive
- Patryk Strojny — former McKinsey executive
Seed investors include Mike Walsh (early investor in Uber and Salesforce), Doug Raetz (Co-President, Cresset Sports and Entertainment), and Red Light Management (opens in a new tab).
Why this matters beyond one song
The music industry''s AI conversation has been almost entirely negative for two years — for good reason, given the current lawsuits against Suno (opens in a new tab) and companies scraping catalogs without consent. Artist Included is a live case study for the opposite model: consent, transparency, rights clearance, artist participation, and clean ownership.
If it works, expect a wave of legacy-catalog re-records that legitimately funnel money back to the artists who wrote the songs. Additional artist partnerships, releases and strategic announcements are coming in the next few months. Follow along at artistincluded.ai (opens in a new tab).