Musicians and Machines – The Relationship Between AI and Real Artists

AI (Artificial Intelligence) isn’t an entirely new concept, as it’s been around since the 1950s. But over the past four years, new AI technology has made it possible for people to create art, videos, and even song lyrics using automated systems.

Sound recording equipment. Image credit: Pixnio, CC0 Public Domain

This type of technology gives organizations incredible opportunities to save time on tedious projects. However, artists in the music industry are voicing their concerns about the ethics of AI technology and what it means for their future. In this post, we delve deeper into the relationship between musicians and machine learning technology.

The Opinions of Musicians About AI

Many musicians in the industry believe that using AI to create any form of music is cheating, whether it’s song lyrics or compositions. Additionally, content creators may not be concerned about how songs are made since they use royalty free background music or other types of effects to create videos or advertising.

Popular artists believe that there should be some form of regulation when it comes to using AI in the industry. With that being said, here are musicians who’ve given their opinions on the use of AI in music.

Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran is one of the biggest and most influential artists of our generation. He’s sold over 150 million records worldwide, and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. Sheeran stated in an interview that Hollywood has been warning people not to use artificial intelligence for decades in movies.

He also stated that he doesn’t understand why people need AI if it’s simply going to take a job away from a human being. If everything ends up being taken over by robots, there will be no jobs for anyone. The artist is concerned about how society will be able to make a living if AI takes over completely.

Liam Gallagher

Not all musicians are against the use of AI. Even old-school musicians like Liam Gallagher find the use of AI in music intriguing. One fan created an AI-generated album of Oasis’ famous songs. In a tweet, Liam simply stated that “It’s better than all the other snizzle out there.”

The only frustration the Oasis vocalist had was that the AI-generated vocals sounded better than him.

Grimes

Another artist who seems to love the concept of fusing musicians with machine creativity is Grimes. She says she finds the concept “cool” and that she enjoys killing copyrights.

The singer also made a bet with her fans that she would split her royalties by 50% if an artist can create a song that’s worthy of using her vocals. She gave fans full permission to use her vocals without penalties.

Drake

Drake’s vocals are frequently used to create AI-generated covers of songs from well-known artists like Lana Del Rey. There was also a computer-generated song called Heart of My Sleeve that was meant to sound like Drake and The Weeknd.

However, after someone made an AI cover of Ice Spice’s Munch, Drake took to social media to voice his concerns. He simply stated, “This is the final straw.”

Musicians Who Have Used AI

What people don’t realize is that many artists are using AI in various forms to create music or to refine their creations. A perfect example is how Paul McCartney (Beatles) used AI to extract John Lennon’s vocals from an old demo tape to create the final Beatles record.

According to Decrypt, 60% of recording artists have used some form of AI technology, such as software that allows the creation of more natural sounding electronic rhythms. Singer and songwriter Taryn Southern became the first artist to compose and produce an album only using AI.

Ethical Issues About AI in the Music Industry

Although AI provides artists with many benefits there are some ethical concerns that musicians have. Anyone can use a computer to extract vocals from an artist’s songs and use their likeness to create entirely new tracks or covers of existing songs.

These artists don’t get compensated for their contributions. Most of the debates are around copyright infringements. AI poses a tricky threat under copyright laws because these laws cover artists who’ve contributed their works to a song either through lyrics or instruments.

Songs that are released that simply sound like an artist aren’t protected under these laws because they’re not created by humans.

Artists who are against companies using their likeness have stated that they want stricter laws to protect their work. 

Final Thoughts

Artificial Intelligence can open up many doors for musicians, especially indie artists who want to save time and money on production and marketing. AI can be used to create music videos and lyrics or even edit tracks. However, copyright laws should be adjusted to protect artists and record labels so they can be compensated when their likeness is used.