With the rise of AI, the music scene is overwhelmed with new tracks. However, is there any need for concern for independent artists that spend their lives trying to create music? Or, is there room for both AI and real-life musicians?
AI voices are becoming more and more powerful. They started off sounding fairly robotic. After all, it was essentially a robot imitating a human voice. They’d been designed around a model’s voice and then adapted over time. Picking up phrases and words and then morphing them together to construct sentences and responses.
As AI has grown, so has the voices within. They’ve gone from sounding fairly robotic, and being clearly something other than a human, to being so realistic that you can’t always tell real from not so real. Many AI voices are hard to identify. Therefore, when it comes to them singing, how would you ever know?
There have been so many AI musicians appearing on the scene recently. Many streaming platforms have banned them. Their music, being removed as quick as it is uploaded. However, not all are planning to remove AI tracks. Is that fair? After all, the AI software was created at some point by a human. Perhaps, just one who isn’t musically talented.
AI music – should it be allowed?
Could you argue they still deserve the chance to release music, even if it isn’t their own vocals? Is this any different from DJs who remix songs rather than singing and producing their own sounds? Or, does it come down to how the AI tracks are created? You could argue if the music has had a large human involvement, then fine.
However, if it’s a case of an AI platform creating the whole thing – lyrics, instruments, vocals etc then there should be a line? Where would that line be? Surely, with music being a form of expression, there should be that human feeling and soul there. Without that, it’s just another computer program doing its job.
Another huge problem is timing. AI platforms are able to produce music at a much quicker speed. It’s unlikely to have mistakes thrown in too. With AI working as fast as it does, independent artists just wouldn’t be able to keep up. Meaning, there’s a large chance of them being pushed out and the work being passed to computers like many other professions.
Fans of AI?
A large part of being a music artist is the fans. Your audience, those who support you throughout your highs and lows, those who stream your music the second it goes live. Those are the ones you perform for. They keep you going, and they’re the ones who financially support you throughout your journey.
Can you have fans as an AI musician? You’re unlikely to go on tour and perform. After all, you aren’t a physical being. Unless of course, someone creates a lifelike version of you, or you perform as a hologram. Either way, an AI performer might have people interested in their tracks, but there won’t be that personal connection.
You’d need a huge, engaging and mind-blowing tour to keep people entertained without a real person performing. Largely therefore relying on special effects. But, this would still require human intervention to be able to create such a show. AI can’t replace the connections of a music artist and their adoring fanbase.
What are your thoughts? Do you believe AI has a place in the music world, or should people just continue to use it to benefit them in other ways? While it might be able to help music along, we’d argue it has no place describing itself as a music artist, and that this should be left to those who work hard for years to better their sound.
