Making Music in an Artificial World

Many of us are rightfully concerned about the impact of A.I. on music and the arts as a whole. What are our primary concerns, and more importantly, how will artists navigate this changing landscape without losing hope?

*FREE* Composition Guide eBook:

*FREE* Synthesis Workshop:

My music:

///////

Socials and Stuff:

[CneeKrunch]

big ups for not having giant red arrows pointing down and a huge bold font saying ITS OVER in all red and yellow. We should not support channels that doom click bait all the time.

[desnou]

I'm a graphic designer and as you may know, we were impacted by AI first. We were terrified. Now, more than a year later, I think I can share some first hand experience - not much has changed really. As you said - AIs are not developed as tools, but not because evil corporations, but because the essence of the technology behind it. It is great for instant creation of complete "a pretty image", but not for gradual process of creating and adjusting "the pretty image". As such, they are completely unsuitable for client-designer back and forth - a lot of commisions on popular freelance platforms have strict "no AI" clauses, because clients burned themselves with cheap "AI artists" who could not handle a simple revision. Graphic models are also devolving - initial models were creative, but imperfect, newer are "perfect" in a photorealistic sense, but way less creative. As a result of this evolution and oversaturation of samey images, people learned how to recognise AI images and are tired of them. With music I suppose it will be exactly the same. Samey background music for commercials or Starbucks will be AI created, but more personally involved clients will still desire human made product and genuine interaction with artists making the music for them.

Now on the whole "democratisation" argument. We heard it too. "Now I can finally create what I see in my head" was/is a very popular argument coming from people who don't really know what "I see in my head" means in case of actual graphic designers. We perfectly know that AI is not creating what we see in our heads. Even more so - trying to get anything resembling what we see is a path to frustration, because it simply can't understand us well enough. The bottom line is - after the initial surge of interest, people will move away from "creating" AI music, because it does not express them. It can't, it only expresses itself.

[pthelo]

I keep thinking of this quote from Brian Eno. While it's about older tech, I feel its perspective is relevant to this conversation.
"The great benefit of computer sequencers is that they remove the issue of skill, and replace it with the issue of judgement. […] So the question becomes not whether you can do it or not, because any drudge can do it if they’re prepared to sit in front of the computer for a few days, the question then is, ‘Of all the things you can now do, which do you choose to do?’"

[Cues]

"The human connection is about to become more scarce, and that's about to make it a lot more valuable." This. This. THIS! Fantastic video!

[curiouslittledroid]

I am a software engineer. The company I work for is diving neck deep into AI.
But, I have precisely zero interest in listening to or watching art created by an AI.
I want to listen to and watch art created by humans - its one of the defining things that makes us human.
I don't listen to Spotify.... at all.
I get my music from Bandcamp, buy finding people just like you Jameson. Yes, I actually buy music, made by CREATIVE humans. It's the creativity and artistry that I desire, respect and admire. And hopefully one day will actually contribute some of my own creativity for the world to see and listen to.
As someone who earns a living from technology, I appreciate AI has its place.... as a tool. But it does NOT have a place in creativity. Sure, some will try and convince you it does, but prompt engineering and the thing that results is not creative. It's just a mashup of other peoples creativity. That does not make it art.

[samprock]

My music was already in jeopardy comparing to what real good musicians like you can do 😂 Did not stop me then, nothing to lose to that AI nonsense now haha

[VaChiee]

I've only made a few hundred dollars in my music career, but its been dawning on me. I've been living my dream of working on music for years now. I don't need money, fame, or recognition. But I do have to try and get my music as far as possible, there is a chance, that something I create can impact someone positively somewhere. I now understand my selfish and selfless reasons do work on music.

To anyone debating if they should continue making music, please do. For yourself, me and everyone else.

Thank you Jameson I think you nailed this one on the head!

[krmn]

I love that take. I think sometimes we forget that art isn't about being good or bad or what it ends up being, but the joy of doing it. Music is a verb, not a noun.

[HieronymusLudo]

One could argue that, if you stick with it, you have an even larger chance of being able to keep at it, because others will give up.

[cesarcarreno_]

Your average consumer doesn't care about the process, only the product!

[nixienoise]

Right on. Arguably my biggest beef with AI is all the snake oil salesmen chanting that it’s going to completely change the world, and for some inane reason replace all the creative jobs (but not the mundane ones??).

But to your point, when AI is busy trying to replace the creative arts, it’s indeed missing all the happy accidents that truly makes art great.

I’d like to think I’m becoming a journeyman level in music, and almost all my productions evolve out of experimentation, leaps of faith, and indeed, accrued knowledge of how things work - in this space, and other creative spaces.

[PattyCFG]

AI music is soulless.
I don't need perfection, I need something made by someone who has lived and experienced pain, joy, sadness, rage...because through the experiences, we learn and then if you are a musician, you can transform your feelings into music. AI cannot replace the soul you put into your performance every time you record a new piano track.
Greetings from Germany

[donotopenhagen]

I think what you said about reverse democratization is true for all other areas that are affected by AI, which is, from how developments of it look like, is pretty much anything. The human connection will still be valuable, but I think it will take all of us, regardless of what you do, into niche areas.

Businesses (music or any other) as always will try to output as much as possible in the cheapest way possible, so I think it will eventually it will take away from us the luxury of being average at something. If you produce average music just for the sake of doing it, there's already a small chance of making it there and it will be significantly reduced. Hence we'll need to specialize: be being good at making live shows or whatever.

One extra piece of hope might be humans' irrationality. Sync exists there for DJs for god knows how long, but if you turn up to some underground venue and use that, it might be your last show there. So, the hunt for "the real thing" is what might save us.

[jondellar]

I think you're spot-on, Jameson. This fear of AI is all-pervading at the moment but algorithm ≠ soul - as we already know from being on YouTube(!)

[charleyhorse]

I love that you’re grounded by your curiosity and by extension are enabling such philosophical views, this is what I find so fascinating about you. I get your questions and understand your fears but I don’t think Ai generated music is going to be a problem for us. I’m old enough to remember conversations of how synthesizers were going to ruin music followed by fears that samplers were going to replace the symphony orchestras but we have seen neither. I love hybrid music, synths and orchestral elements or entire sections requiring both brilliant composers and musicians to realise each piece. Ai sounds scary but in the end composers and musicians will determine which flavour of Ai music creation software will be the most popular and which will fall to the wayside just as DAW’s, samplers and synthesizers did so before it. Thanks for the discourse, I too was worried but your search for clarity made this subject easy for me to digest and I feel much better for it.

[dasMobius]

Your perspectives on AI are among the wisest I've seen on YouTube. I have long been concerned about AI as well. I feel completely hopeless and in despair, yet I still plod on with my music. I am afraid that AI is negatively altering society's view on the value of art and artists. I used to not care what others think, but that was before it became a possibility that others might think that my music is created by AI when I have spent a lifetime pouring my heart and soul into it. Though I feel hopeless because of AI, I nevertheless continue working on my music. I agree that cultivating more of a human connection with my audience is increasingly important. One of the reasons why I started leaving my livestreams up on my YouTube channel (rather than taking them down immediately) is to create more of a human element with my online presence. I too just wanted to be an obscure anonymous artist hiding in the shadows putting out weird albums every few years, but I'm profoundly worried about the vanishing human connection of the digital age and I want to rebel against that. (I also somewhat rebel against the 1-dimensionality of "content culture" and sometimes get into other topics besides music.) Besides online activities, I also play live music with bands, which is also good for human connection and I have been doing that for years.

[ArkentMusic]

Thank you for this encouragement, Jameson.

[Busiless]

Great vid. I needed to hear a good point of view 🤘😎

[marcus_ohreallyus]

I'm still relatively new to the musical arts, just as all of this Ai stuff is coming into play. If the music is not coming directly from my brain, I want nothing to do with it, even if it does sound better than what I can write. The entire point of my music-making journey is to express my art with sound, for better or worse. I'm not trying to "crank out beats" to make a buck.

[domdib]

Well said! Process not product, journey not 'destination'. To regard music as purely a solution to a specific brief (as in an AI prompt) is to lose sight of the depths of music (and all authentic art forms) as that which expresses something fundamental, and mysterious, about the human spirit.