Why AI will kill music soon…

I have commented and spoke about this in the past but as the AI hype train pulls into another couple of hundred stations full of passengers it is beginning to show how it will eventually change music for ever, and not, in my opinion, for the better. I will start by putting a link to the latest video of a youtuber who has made it her passion to create AI Depeche Mode content. Take a look and a listen to the song and then we can get into why I am worried about how this is going and the speed this train is travelling!

Now – firstly, let us be clear here. This debate is not about how you personally feel about this song, but the wider implications. Youtube makes it clear that in their T&Cs you have to declare about AI content, which this video does. But, if you weren’t a DM fan what would you think about this song?
It’s OK really isn’t it? Maybe not to your taste. But hey, listen up, that DOESN’T matter, because many people don’t worry about that at all. The rate that this AI is progressing means that in a couple of years at most, people will be able to speak into their smartphone and prompt it to create an AI tune and get say 5 responses back in a minute to listen to. There will be zero reason to have a paid for Spotify account because you’ll get something back, and you can keep a free account for those times you want a old skool classic! Music is already pretty much a commodity that nobody pays for unless you are the older generation. I know lots of under 30 yr olds for example who have never bought a CD/Album/whatever and never been to a gig and wouldn’t ever pay for music. That is just sad IMHO, and is a regression, not a progression. But here is the thing, this is only going to get worse, not better and soon it will be the norm to have unlimited free music, if it isn’t there already for many. I would argue that despite my worst fears, most adults nowadays only have their mobile devices and perhaps a TV to consume music, and kids, well, they will only probably have their mobile. We all know that mobiles are getting rid of expandable storage so in a year or 2 you won’t be able to put your music on a device you will have to stream it or AI generate it – that’s a fact.

SO how can I see this being the end of music? Well back to Spotify who recently announced that they were paying even less to artists per stream. If you dig around, basically is was saying that as their costs rise, like everyones are, they can’t afford to pay artists as much. I get it, I really do, but that just makes artists less likely to record anything. I am told over and over again how the only way to make money these days is to gig, but unless you have a decent fan base, I see gig revenues dropping too. It doesn’t take much to see that Swifty is doing a massive tour whilst she can command the prices and the fans to come and see her. I can see that if she doesn’t tour now the next one will be much more expensive and also seen a lot less – this tour was costed a couple of years back, for example. £200 gig tickets will become the norm, and even small guys will have to charge say £25 to cover costs soon. Would you pay £25 to see an artists play who you’re not familiar with? Perhaps if it was a cover band you would – but that is kinda a separate argument nowadays!

So there we have it – I don’t want to write a mahoosive long piece about this, but the future look, well, rocky to say the least. I know lots of people in tech, and jobs are going rapidly, costs are rising, and the outlook for most is bleak at best. Many are predicting massive layoffs and companies going bust left, right and centre – and I’m afraid I have to agree. I’d like to hear/see your thoughts on this, so please like and subscribe, sorry I mean leave a comment!