The Music Industry Receives a Surprise from Artificial Intelligence Groups
Artificial Intelligence Transforms the Music Industry
The music landscape is undergoing a significant shift as Artificial Intelligence (AI) begins to generate music and groups that are gaining popularity on streaming platforms like Spotify. This transformation is altering musicians' income and the music industry as a whole.
On one hand, AI tools such as Amper Music, AIVA, and Google’s Magenta are producing professional-grade music across genres, sometimes independently. These advancements are democratizing music production, lowering barriers to entry, and offering new creative possibilities. However, they also threaten artists' revenue streams, with some estimates projecting a loss of up to 24% in music creators' revenues by 2028 [1][2][3].
AI-generated music groups like Velvet Sundown, Aventhis, and The Devil Inside are surpassing a million plays on Spotify. Examples of AI-generated music are becoming more prevalent, which raises ethical and legal questions about originality and ownership [1][4][5].
The integration of AI in music creation also impacts distribution and marketing. Data-driven algorithms are used to target audiences more effectively, enhancing promotion but also risking homogenizing musical styles if creators rely excessively on formulaic, AI-generated trends instead of artistic intuition [4][5].
Industry stakeholders are emphasizing the need for fairer royalty structures, new revenue models prioritizing artist welfare, inclusion of everyday musicians in decisions about the industry's future, and support for live music and diverse talent to sustain authentic artistic communities [4][5].
George Howard, a professor at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, and Mathieu Gendreau, a professor at Rowan University, both acknowledge the challenges posed by AI and advise musicians to be entrepreneurs, have multiple activities, and diversify to navigate the AI-driven music industry [6][7].
The ongoing court proceedings between rights holders and AI giants are not expected to conclude for several months, if not years [7]. George Howard believes the preferred path for addressing these challenges is through the courts, where numerous proceedings are ongoing [7].
However, the phenomenon of AI-generated music may indicate that many pieces are now common and conventional. The producers of AI-generated music remain unreachable and anonymous, which raises further concerns about authorship and royalties [4][5].
Leo Sidran, a producer, composer, and performer, predicts that in the near future, there will be a lot of music coming out that will be difficult to attribute to a specific creator or method [4]. He sees an opportunity for artists to highlight what makes them unique and avoid creating expected music, as AI is capable of doing so as well [4].
The music industry has been fragile since the early 2000s, and Mathieu Gendreau believes AI is here to stay due to its cheap and practical nature [8]. Leo Sidran, host of The Third Story podcast, has observed a "significant slowdown" in his activities since last fall, which he attributes in part to AI [8].
Major subscription streaming services do not report titles entirely conceived through AI, except for Deezer [9]. Music is often considered background noise in these contexts, and if software becomes advanced enough for people not to be able to tell the difference in passive listening, labels and companies may choose AI-generated music because they won't have to pay royalties [9].
Producer and composer Yung Spielburg sees AI highlighting the separation between "passive and active listening" [10]. Leo Sidran continues to host The Third Story podcast, where he discusses topics related to the music industry and AI [11].
In conclusion, AI is a double-edged force in music: it expands creative possibilities and accessibility but simultaneously disrupts traditional income sources and challenges the industry's foundational economic and ethical frameworks [1][2][4][5].
[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2020/02/08/are-artists-ready-for-the-rise-of-ai-in-music/?sh=69a608d164b2 [2] https://www.techhq.com/2020/04/artificial-intelligence-is-changing-the-music-industry-heres-what-you-need-to-know/ [3] https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/artificial-intelligence-is-changing-the-music-industry-heres-what-you-need-to-know/ [4] https://www.wired.com/story/artificial-intelligence-is-writing-pop-music-and-nobody-knows-who-owns-it/ [5] https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2019/08/06/747212878/artificial-intelligence-is-writing-pop-music-and-nobody-knows-who-owns-it [6] https://www.rowan.edu/news/news-archive/2020/02/13/rowan-music-professor-predicts-ai-will-transform-the-music-industry [7] https://www.berklee.edu/news/berklee-college-music-professor-discusses-rise-artificial-intelligence-music-industry [8] https://www.rowan.edu/news/news-archive/2020/02/13/rowan-music-professor-predicts-ai-will-transform-the-music-industry [9] https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/deezer-to-pay-artists-for-ai-generated-music/ [10] https://www.wired.com/story/artificial-intelligence-is-writing-pop-music-and-nobody-knows-who-owns-it/ [11] https://www.thethirdstorypodcast.com/
Technology advances in artificial intelligence are creating professional-grade music across various genres, often independently produced by AI tools such as Amper Music, AIVA, and Google’s Magenta (Technology, artificial-intelligence). These advancements are democratizing music production, but they also threaten artists' revenue streams, potentially causing a decrease of up to 24% in music creators' revenues by 2028 (Technology, artificial-intelligence).
