Do NOT pay submission fees, entry fees, or registration costs to AEMAS (Academy of Emerging Music Arts & Sciences) or the Ellison Awards.
Following cold email solicitations sent to the BitwareTunes artist roster, our automated security systems and technical investigation analyzed the sender infrastructure, domain history, corporate registrations, and business model. The operation raises all red flags of an exploitative pay-to-play vanity scheme.
§01 The Evidence: What They Sent
On October 1 and October 2, 2026, cold emails were blasted to our label inboxes from Dr. Shamielle Alston <info@aemas.org> (envelope-from judges@aemas.org). Notice the classic grooming language: starting with flattery about human-AI creativity, promising "this is not a paid placement," and immediately pivoting to a submission window starting November 1, 2026.
Our security monitoring system immediately issued a formal reply noting that an automatic investigation had concluded a possible scam attempt. Rather than addressing the notice, their automated spam script fired a second follow-up twelve hours later:
§02 Investigation Findings: The 6 Red Flags
Our investigation uncovered clear technical, legal, and operational markers demonstrating that this is an opportunistic vanity award scam:
A 16-Day-Old Domain Hijacking an Expired Acronym
Official WHOIS records verify that aemas.org was registered on September 16, 2026 via Tucows. The domain was previously held for over a decade by the legitimate ASEAN Energy Management Scheme. When that registration lapsed, it was scavenged by the operators to masquerade as an aged, trustworthy institutional .org domain.
The Classic "Pay-to-Play" Vanity Award Playbook
Vanity award schemes prey on independent creators. The script never varies: (1) flatter artists by pretending their work was specially selected; (2) manufacture an official-sounding "Academy"; (3) open a narrow submission window; (4) demand "entry fees", "submission processing fees", or "nomination tier upgrades"; and (5) charge winners hundreds of dollars for plastic statuettes or PDF certificates. There is zero actual broadcast, industry standing, or radio recognition.
Disposable Infrastructure: Wix Template & Google Drive
A legitimate global music academy does not operate out of a brand new standard Wix site (generator: Wix.com Website Builder) nor distribute its official "announcement commercial" via a personal Google Drive share link (drive.google.com/file/d/1u05p3l...). Real industry award bodies possess verified corporate entities, production budgets, and official distribution partnerships.
Fictitious Academy with Zero Industry Affiliation
There is no registered 501(c)(3) or European non-profit for the "Academy of Emerging Music Arts & Sciences". There are no named governors, no accredited musicologist board, no verified jury, and zero backing from major generative audio platforms (Suno, Udio, Stable Audio) or music rights organizations.
Unverifiable "Founder" Credentials
The outreach is signed by "Dr. Shamielle Alston". Background verification reveals no doctoral thesis, peer-reviewed research, or industry record in artificial intelligence, digital signal processing, or music composition. The persona has self-published online devotional material and self-released music, but holds no accredited standing as a music academy president.
Automated Cold Spamming of Scraped AI Creators
Because legacy award shows (The Grammys, The BRITs) have erected barriers against AI music, predators know synthetic artists and local-weight producers are seeking validation. Scammers are scraping Suno creator directories, AI music subreddits, and independent labels to blast thousands of unsolicited solicitations.
§03 How to Protect Yourself
Independent AI artists and producers should follow these strict precautions:
- DO NOT pay submission fees: Legitimate honors, broadcast curation, and reputable labels do not cold-email unsolicited creators demanding entry fees or submission processing payments.
- DO NOT submit unreleased masters, stems, or contracts: Never hand over raw project files or sign vague "licensing grant" agreements on unverified platforms.
- Verify domain registration age: Whenever an organization claims to be an established "Academy", run a quick
whois domain.orgcheck. If the domain was registered two weeks ago, close the tab immediately. - Report spam and phishing: Report solicitations from
info@aemas.organdjudges@aemas.orgas phishing/spam in your email client and to the registrar abuse desk (domainabuse@tucows.com). - Warn fellow creators: Share this advisory across your creator circles, Discord servers, and producer groups to prevent independent musicians from losing hard-earned money.
§04 The Sovereign Music Standard
At BitwareTunes, we believe in sovereign creative production. We host acts on our Open Stage, creators retain 100% of their intellectual property rights, and listeners support artists directly. Real community and authentic audience relationships cannot be purchased with an entry fee to a fictitious academy.
If you have received similar solicitations from AEMAS or other dubious entities targeting AI music artists, let our community know at community.bitwaretunes.com or forward the headers to hello@bitwaretunes.com.