Is music under threat? AI-generated tracks have taken over the internet. Paul McCartney has used AI to finish an old Beatles song. Some think we are entering the post-musician era.
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AI used to create one last Beatles song
Is music under threat? AI-generated tracks have taken over the internet. Paul McCartney has used AI to finish an old Beatles song. Some think we are entering the post-musician era.
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The BeatlesAn English rock band formed in Liverpool in the 1960s. One of the most famous bands of all time. disbanded in 1969. Two of its members are dead. Yet the iconic LiverpoolA port city in northwest England, close to the border with Wales. band are about to release a new song.
Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney revealed this week that he is using AIA computer programme that has been designed to think. to finish a demo by his late bandmate John LennonAn English singer-songwriter and member of the world-renowned 1960s band The Beatles. He was assassinated in 1980 in New York. . McCartney will use the tech to copy Lennon's voice.
AI is on the rise in music. Earlier this year, an artist called Ghostwriter released a song sung by AI-generated clones of pop stars Drake and The Weeknd.1 It racked up 230,000 plays on YouTube and 625,000 on Spotify before Universal Music GroupA huge multinational music company. complained and had the song removed.
Yet AI-generated music is thriving. On YouTube you can find AI-generated tracks of Queen singer Freddie Mercury singing Michael Jackson songs, Kayne West covering Coldplay and Taylor Swift's current voice covering her old songs.
Musicians have reacted to AI with mixed emotions. As McCartney says: "It's kind of scary but exciting, because it's the future."
Many fear for their own careers. AI tools are already being used to make muzakLight background music which is played through speakers in public places., pushing composers out of work.2 Musicians might be next. Why pay a guitarist for a recording when you can use cheap, easy to use AI?
It poses questions for the ownership of music. If someone makes a track using Paul McCartney's voice, is it owned by McCartney, the AI system or the person who made the track? Who should benefit financially from a track that uses AI clones of real singers?
Some worry that AI might damage creativity. Instead of thinking up sparkling new ideas, musicians might just use AI for an easy shortcut. The result might be a music scene that stays in the same place forever.
Yet not everyone agrees. Some musicians have already embraced AI. The electronic composer Holly Herndon, for instance, uses an AI version of her own voice - nicknamed Holly+ - to sing alongside her.
Others enjoy the way AI breaks the barrier between star and fan. The Canadian artist Grimes has allowed fans to use her voice in AI-generated songs. She will even split the royaltiesA type of ordinary income generated from copyrights, patents, and oil and gas properties. For instance, a sum paid to the owner or artist of a piece of creative work every time it is played or performed. with them. She says: "I like the idea of open sourcing all art and killing copyright."
And AI tools can also help people outside the music industry breakthrough. Music critic Puja Patel says: "It opens up doors for people who are under-resourced."
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<h5 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper" id="question">Is music under threat?</h5>
Yes: We are living in the calm before the storm. AI music may seem fake now, but soon record labels will be able to bombard the market with cheap copies. We will be unable to tell real and AI apart.
No: Music has changed as new technology appears. Electronic instruments, synthesisers, samplers, GarageBand... the list goes on. AI is just the latest innovation that will push music forward.
Or... Music thrives wherever there are people. The real threat is to the music industry, which seeks to control how music is produced. AI might create a freer, more open musical scene.
The Beatles - An English rock band formed in Liverpool in the 1960s. One of the most famous bands of all time.
Liverpool - A port city in northwest England, close to the border with Wales.
AI - A computer programme that has been designed to think.
John Lennon - An English singer-songwriter and member of the world-renowned 1960s band The Beatles. He was assassinated in 1980 in New York.
Universal Music Group - A huge multinational music company.
Muzak - Light background music which is played through speakers in public places.
Royalties - A type of ordinary income generated from copyrights, patents, and oil and gas properties. For instance, a sum paid to the owner or artist of a piece of creative work every time it is played or performed.
AI used to create one last Beatles song
Beatlemania: The Beatles have sold more than 600 million albums worldwide. Glossary
The Beatles - An English rock band formed in Liverpool in the 1960s. One of the most famous bands of all time.
Liverpool - A port city in northwest England, close to the border with Wales.
AI - A computer programme that has been designed to think.
John Lennon - An English singer-songwriter and member of the world-renowned 1960s band The Beatles. He was assassinated in 1980 in New York.
Universal Music Group - A huge multinational music company.
Muzak - Light background music which is played through speakers in public places.
Royalties - A type of ordinary income generated from copyrights, patents, and oil and gas properties. For instance, a sum paid to the owner or artist of a piece of creative work every time it is played or performed.