AI in the Music Industry Pros and Cons
Navigating the Inundation of AI Generate Music content
The music industry has always been at the forefront of technology
The music industry has always been at the forefront of technology-driven change. The way we consume music has evolved drastically over the years, from vinyl to cassette tapes, CDs, and now streaming. However, the industry is now facing a new challenge — an inundation of music content. With the advent of AI-generated music, the industry is about to experience a flood of new tracks, and the current tools in use may not be enough to navigate this new world. The need for advanced tools to help the music industry survive and thrive has never been more urgent.
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AI and Its Benefits
Let’s look at the benefits of AI in music. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool that can help the music industry in many ways. AI has already been integrated into music streaming services, where it is used to personalize recommendations for listeners. But the potential benefits of AI go far beyond that.
For instance:
- AI can help artists discover their audiences and target their music promotion efforts.
- It can also help music industry professionals detect copyright infringements and piracy more efficiently, and even assist in music composition.
- Spotify uses AI to find those artists who are trying to cheat the streaming system by purchasing bot streams which generate thousands of plays using bot farms to increase their revenue and play count.
AI-Generated Music
One of the most significant impacts of AI on the music industry will be the creation of AI-generated music. We’ve already seen the negative side to this beast.
Top AI Generated Music Headlines:
1. Spotify Removes ‘Tens Of Thousands’ Of AI-Generated Songs: Spotify has removed 7% of songs created with AI-generated music service Boomy from its website, equating to “tens of thousands,” after Universal Music Group flagged Boomy for allegedly using bots to boost its streaming numbers, according to a Financial Times report.
2. Advances in AI have gotten to the point where the technology can quickly create new songs like “Heart on My Sleeve” that sound like they’re the work of real artists.
How does AI Generate music?
AI-generated music algorithms analyze vast amounts of existing music and use that information to compose new pieces of music. While this technology is still in its early stages, it has the potential to revolutionize the music industry. However, this also raises many questions — will AI-generated music lead to a homogenization of music? And if music all sounds similar due to AI Generated music what role will human creativity play in a world where much of the music is generated by machines?
The answer to that question seems clear. Unless AI Generated Music gets significantly more genuine and realistic, humans will still be needed to create heartfelt skilled performances.
I’ve always felt that with all the technology we have in music creation, there’s nothing that can beat the passion and excitement of listening to an artist who has perfected their musical skills through hard work. Talent always shines through especially in an AI Generated world.
The moral issue.. Should AI bring dead artists voices back to life?
The use of a dead artist’s voice has added yet another layer of legal and ethical uncertainty to a debate over the use of AI-generated music. According to a story in the Washington Post…
In late April, Deiana a 39-year-old disc jockey and business owner in Chicago, has always wondered what Christopher Wallace — also known as Biggie Smalls — could have done if his career hadn’t ended so suddenly. Using AI, he got his first taste of what that might sound like— and he was blown away.
An artificial-intelligence-generated track featuring Biggie Smalls’s voice rapping “N.Y. State of Mind” by Nas landed on social media, its quality garnering rave reviews from fans. But it also sparked a debate: Did it represent a violation of the rapper’s legacy?
“Just hearing him on something new is like uncovering something from the vault,” Deiana said in an interview. But thinking deeper “brought it back down to earth and made me realize this isn’t real. … AI made this.”
So should AI be allowed to bring artist back to life artist for their heart broken fans?
Artist like Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Tom Petty and so many others who left us way too early are now launching new music from the grave.. but should this be allowed?
I have to admit there is a side to me really wanting to hear that new music. The idea of musicians becoming immortal through AI tools using their catalogues to inspire new work might be something their estates can use to sooth music fans and bring a new audience to previous work.
Popular Artists are already jumping on this AI Generated Music trend...
A recent story in the Digital Music news states…
Vancouver-born Grimes (real name Claire Boucher) rolled out a beta for her artificial intelligence concept, which she first outlined on social media in April 2023. Of course, it’s hardly a secret that an avalanche of AI music, from a multitude of extremely similar “songs” to an array of works made to sound like Drake tracks, has debuted as of late. Grimes is officially pushing forward with an AI project through which others can create music with her voice and pocket a piece of the resulting royalties. It’s a 50/50 split
Grimes has made nearly 20 gigabytes’ worth of stems available through Elf.tech and touched upon plans to drop music of her own in the near future.
**Needless to say, it’ll be interesting to monitor the Grimes AI platform moving forward — if only because of the massive amount of music that it seems poised to produce. But still ample takedown notices and firmly worded public statements have thus far failed to stem the tide of artificial intelligence releases in any event.
Navigating the Inundation of AI-generated music content
With AI-generated music set to enter the scene, the music industry needs better tools to navigate the sheer amount of content that will flood the market.
Traditional methods of promoting and discovering music may not be enough to handle the influx. The industry needs advanced tools that can sort through the vast amounts of music data and provide relevant insights to artists, listeners and industry professionals alike.
The question remains..
How quickly can humans create the AI-Generated tools needed to oversee and categorize the content.
With the advent of AI-generated music, the music industry is facing a new and exciting chapter. However, to navigate this new world, the industry needs advanced tools to help manage the influx of content. AI is the key to unlocking this potential, and its integration into the music industry will help artists, listeners and industry professionals alike if used correctly. By embracing AI as a tool and not a threat, the music industry can stay ahead of the curve and usher in a new era of music innovation.
AI can help with tasks such as music recommendation, content curation, and even music composition. By leveraging AI as a tool, the music industry can be at the forefront of the next wave of innovation.
My question to you is…. What side of this do you want to be on?
Written by Jacqueline Jax
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