“They took the credit for your second symphony, Rewritten by machine on new technology…” These lyrics to The Buggles “Video Killed the Radio Star” could not be more relevant today. As Artificial Intelligence and social media has thrived and advanced throughout the years, its evolution of technology has had drastic impacts on music in this generation – good and bad. With the quick push of a button, one can create a perfect beat, with perfect lyrics and catchiness- without having to put any thought into it at all. No talent or creativity needed- which seems easier and more convenient, when in reality it prevents underground artists from gaining any recognition. This is exactly what’s wrong with AI and the music world today.
Let’s take a quick trip back to the 1990s- aka, the year when music essentially took over the world. Grunge, to be specific. Bands such as Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots and Soundgarden could be heard blasting out of college campus windows, and from every radio station you could possibly find. That’s all there really was, all that was played on the radio and that was exposed to young kids. Seeing Nirvana play “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on MTV could have been enough for that kid’s eyes to open and the inspiration to spark, and soon enough the top thing on their Christmas list is an electric guitar. This is the decade where you most likely heard some kid and his friends trying to cover “Basket Case” from the dark pits of a garage around every neighborhood corner, and the decade where kids actually had the inspiration to pick up an instrument and play. No AI or social media existed to provide an easy route to making music; there simply are no shortcuts to truly great music. It takes passion, dedication, and practice. Of course it can take many years to really get good at a skill such as playing guitar or drums, or even singing. But back then that didn’t matter- what mattered was the dedication you put in to actually make it one day. The music world is supposed to be tough, and sometimes it might make you want to stop or give up. But that’s just a sign to keep going.
As artificial intelligence continues to develop and become more advanced, the music scene has become oversaturated with AI songs made by fake artists. Nowadays, anyone, even someone with no musical talent is able to fabricate a fake tune using AI. “Fake” isn’t even an exaggeration- in just a couple of seconds someone could have AI throw together some lyrics and record their voice to make it sound like Paul McCartney is singing. And if people like it, the song can easily be spread around social media and gain more attention than a real underground artist could hope to obtain in a year. This is the problem with music and social media- it pushes lesser known artists way to the bottom of the music scene because it may not sound as perfectly crafted as an AI song would.
Before the advent of AI, music artists were required to possess real creativity, as every song lyric, musical note, and 808 was intentional and thought out. The hard work and dedication was what made music special, what touched people. Raw talent and emotion would get the attention it deserved, because there was no AI to overshadow it… A website can easily create the most perfect guitar riff, bass line, and drum beat for you – and the credit is taken for yourself leaving ambitious people who actually play those instruments without proper recognition.
Additionally, it was harder to achieve success, as before the cost of promoting music and signing with a record label was immense, compared to the present where social media has made it very easy to gain millions of impressions. Social media has also incentivized musicians to make songs that are repetitive and catchy for short form media, reminiscent of songs that were made for ringtones in the 2000’s. It almost feels like nobody is making music for themselves anymore, instead it’s made for the public to spread around so that they can gain attention- and money.
You might be thinking, “Well, what do you expect as technology advances and music becomes easier to create? It’s just more convenient.” Yes, as technology advances it is almost impossible for music not to become easier and easier to craft, but as music making today seems more convenient, it also becomes more useless to try and do it yourself while making it sound better. There is no longer any need for real instruments or skill, you’ve got it all in your back pocket with the simple push of a button! AI evolution is inevitable just as social media evolution is inevitable; but this doesn’t mean the evolution of real music is impossible. Even if it seems useless or no good, support real artists as much as you can and spread the word. Who knows, maybe your local rock band of twelve year olds could become the next big thing.
