In today’s digital world, AI-driven music is becoming increasingly popular. ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence tool, has the potential to create great music from scratch as Americans everywhere enjoy the beats of top artists and musicians. Is this a blessing or a blocking force to musicians who are still trying to make it big? That is the structure question that needs to be answered.
Endel, a Berlin-based audio-technology company, has recently partnered with musician Brian Eno to create something special together: generative music, which uses algorithms and frameworks created by humans in order to arrange and rearrange the sounds to create a personalized soundscape for the listeners. This AI-generated sound has quickly become popular, and Endel states that functional music garners 10 billion streams per month, which is almost double last year’s number.
But for record labels, this newfound success is painful. If this is the case with functional music, then what will happen once these AI tools gain the sophistication to match the likes of James Blake and Grimes? Fresh from the success of his album Wind Down, the record label Universal Music Group is now demanding that streaming platforms clamp down on AI services that use artists’ existing tracklists to train their machines.
Benoit Carre, a composer of AI-assisted music, was able to list some of the current AI tools capabilities including the ability to create song snippets in various genres, imitate the styles of individual lyricists, as well as emulate the vocal timbre of certain singers. But to match the likes of Beatles-like music requires much more.
And that’s why UMG is worried. If these AI tools gain too much strength, famous artists – like Taylor Swift or The Weeknd – could be easily replaced. To counter this, the label is pushing for a new “artist-centric” payment model that favours the already popular music. While this leaves the lower level of music creation vulnerable, Denis Ladegaillerie from Paris-based music company Believe SA says that regulations need to be set in order to protect equality and diversity among musicians.
It is clear that AI-generated music has plenty of potential to disrupt the traditional music industry as we know it. For now, labels like Universal Music Group are worried about their music-streaming model and the increasingly unequal distribution of streaming spoils. AI can create song snippets easily, but it remains to be seen how much of an impact it will have in terms of replacing famous artists with AI-generated music. Even if the iconic stars are safe, regulations need to be put in place to ensure that up-and-coming musicians do not get left behind.
