An artist’s perspective on how AI can push REAL musicianship forward [Maxximo]
Maxximo, an indie musician and founder of a new music tech startup, gives an artist’s perspective on the AI-generated music developments of the last few weeks.
by Maxximo of www.maxximomusic.com and his startup www.maxximal.co
Over the last couple of weeks, the biggest debate within the music industry has been the impact of AI. Some argue that it’ll be as disruptive as Napster and Streaming, some see it as the future, and others as a terrifying threat.
You see, streaming helped bring some stability & growth after years of decline, but with it new problems came to life: an overcrowded market, thousands of fake artists, fake streams, playlist bots just to name a few.
Streaming worked mainly because it solved a problem (piracy), in contrast AI is not doing that, in fact it’s making these problems worse.
The arguments around AI mostly cave into the idea of “democratizing” the music industry, a buzz word that many companies use to sell the utopia they’d create but a reality they can’t seem to achieve. Don’t get me wrong I love the fact that the point of entry for artists (me included) is easier than ever, cheaper production, distribution & promotion for example. However, this has opened the door for just about anyone to release music, regardless of talent, artistry & musicianship, from makeup influencers to viral memes (the backpack kid).
This open-door policy has made great music discovery close to impossible, and one could argue that it’s a big contributor to the homogeneity of new music.
AI is only aggravating this and is opening the door to more severe problems. Like we’ve seen with deep fakes, bad actors can use this technology to create content that can hurt artists more than helping them. For example, users could generate songs with an artist’s voice to say racist, antisemitic or homophobic statements without artist consent or control, and as the technology advances it’ll be harder to tell real from AI.
The conversations around AI bounce from changing copyright laws, to AI licensing of artist IP to a complete ban, but most of the conversations leave two vital elements behind… artists & fans.
Since the inception of the music business artists had to play and settle by rules set by corporations, their shareholders and interests. Streaming didn’t change that and now with AI the story seems to be repeating again.
Did the companies building these models ask artists or get licenses to train their models and use artists likeness before deploying these tools?
No, we were completely bypassed and we’ll most likely be the first ones to struggle. I’m not saying that it’s too late to get to licensing or other “solutions” but we could have built more trust and appreciation for the technology if we would have been considered before the release of these models, and without trust it’ll be harder for artists to really champion AI & its potential, instead of taking the punch and go with it because we had no choice, just like with streaming.
Now let’s talk about fans, the real decision-makers. It’s too early to tell if fans will truly embrace and consume AI music. As I mentioned AI isn’t really fixing a problem or making music access more convenient like streaming did, for now AI music is a hype and a novelty, but when given a choice between AI vs Real artist I believe most fans will prefer to see, listen & support the real artist, you know humans still gonna human.
Now to the silver lining. I believe AI is bringing a reckoning the industry really needs. As I mentioned, AI isn’t creating new problems, it’s only making them stronger & more visible. This reckoning will truly be a test for the industry, and it has the potential to push real musicianship & artistry forward.
Fans and consumers will have a bigger hunger for real artists and only those who work hard and push their music into something that AI can’t replicate will thrive and survive. Music innovation & creativity will be rewarded and the power of fandom will be more important than ever, because as much as AI can make decent music, fans love and support not only the music but the person & creative heart behind it.
In conclusion, the AI era is an opportunity for real artists to push forward, build long-lasting careers, fanbases & challenge the boring status quo in which popular music has fallen, even before AI.
