Will YOU Survive the AI Music Takeover?

AI is getting really good at generating realistic and emotional music. Where will this leave music-makers?
Today we discuss how to ensure that we remain relevant in the face of an AI music takeover!
Links:
Rolling Stone AI Song - www.rollingstone.com/music/mu...
Jeff Leisawitz on the Music Production Podcast - brianfunk.com/blog/jeff-leisa...
Forest Far by Project Nairb - open.spotify.com/album/1pS6U9...
Some Good Evil - distrokid.com/hyperfollow/som...
Micro Cassette Ableton Live Pack - brianfunk.com/blog/2019/3/15/...
100-Year-Old Piano Ableton Live Pack - brianfunk.com/blog/tape-piano
VHS Vapor Machine Ableton Live Pack - brianfunk.com/blog/vhs-vapor
Brian Funk Website - brianfunk.com
Music Production Club - brianfunk.com/mpc
5-Minute Music Producer - brianfunk.com/book
Intro Music Made with 16-Bit Ableton Live Pack - brianfunk.com/blog/16-bit
Music Production Podcast - brianfunk.com/podcast
Save 25% on Ableton Live Packs at my store with the code: PODCAST - brianfunk.com/store
This episode was edited by Animus Invidious of PerforModule - performodule.com/
Thank you for listening.
Please review the Music Production Podcast on your favorite podcast provider!
And don’t forget to visit my site BrianFunk.com for music production tutorials, videos, and sound packs.
Brian Funk
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😎 Brian Funk
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[@BrianFunkMusic]

How will you survive the AI Music Takeover? Share your tips!

[@Esteban-pb4gw]

Well, now that whatever we do with it belongs to the model owner we need at least to use our protected lyrics. With about 800 k + generated songs per day, Udio will receive a lot of royalties in the near future

[@Fabermorrow]

Playing live music is definetally something that will never die and also being a good if not great DJ is something an AI will never be able to replicate...In the electronic music underground there is some insane DJ's out there that really know how to inspire with sound and I dont see that ever being possible with AI... maybe in many many years but never possible to replicate the power of a human being controlling an entire room!

[@BrianFunkMusic]

@@Fabermorrow That's a pretty tough thing to recreate! Something about being in that energy that is unmatchable!

[@wasabi333]

I think we're fucked.

[@BrianFunkMusic]

@@wasabi333 Could be!

[@johnrun712]

I think people are forgetting the human involvement IS the point, not so much the end product that can just be copied.

[@BrianFunkMusic]

This is especially noticeable when you are working with others. There's nothing quite like that interaction and exchanging creative ideas and energies!

[@johnrun712]

@@BrianFunkMusic Exactly. I can't remember any such shared infectious energy from my iMac!

[@BrianFunkMusic]

@@johnrun712 😂Very true!

[@Fabermorrow]

Its really crazy how much you remind me of my high school music teacher (in the best way possible) I was really blessed to have had him as my teacher for 4 years as he was a super experimental and interesting guy.. Thanks again for the vids, been watching you for years now! really seeing you improve as of recently.. this one was really great!

[@BrianFunkMusic]

Thanks for keeping up with my work! I'm glad you are enjoying it! It sounds like you are putting me in great company, thanks and hats off to your teacher!

[@ben_burnes]

much like what Neatfreak said in another comment, AI's impact will likely be with stock music and background music. Stuff that needs to convey a mood without being too distracting to what is going on visually. Things that don't need to be licensed. I always love creating story with my music. I tend to start a song and then try to visualize what situation that this song would be played in, and then expand in that direction. Sometimes it's a big punchy action scene, or other times it's depicting a still life. Either way, having that story in mind takes you directions that you wouldn't go normally and that's so important.

[@BrianFunkMusic]

Hey Ben!! Maybe AI music will clear out generic music in general! Your approach is awesome. I think that's when I'm most productive too. Just imagining a time, place, and purpose for my music helps a lot.

[@Dystopian84]

It doesn't matter! if millions of people generate and publish billions of songs every day , You will be lost in the noise , impossible to find .

[@BrianFunkMusic]

@@Dystopian84 One thing Ben does that is very interesting and exciting is stream a lot of his process. That part of his process is intriguing and draws people in. So far, that seems like something computers can't do. But you aren't wrong; with so much music, even as it is before AI generated stuff, it's really tough to stand out from the noise.

[@draviswubs]

If you know music, you have nothing to worry about. If you were always looking for an easy way to the top (dragging and dropping samples, for example) then you should worry. Learn music folks.

[@BrianFunkMusic]

Good point! It's always good to know the craft!

[@wasabi333]

Yeah, IDK bro. Most people I knew who "knew music" were like little robots who couldn't be 1% original in ANYTHING. And they were VERY robotic. Most musical people I knew were self-taught and MUCH MUCH MUCH more original. edit: correct if I'm wrong, you mean music theory right?

[@BrianFunkMusic]

@@wasabi333 I think that's what we're talking about, that and knowing how to play an instrument. I know what you mean though. I've known very accomplished musicians that freeze as soon as the sheet music is taken away. Sometimes the formal training misses some of the important things self-taught people pick up on, especially improvisation and writing. But I think a balance of both worlds is ideal!

[@wasabi333]

@@BrianFunkMusic Oh, gotcha! TBH I was scared of learning to a point, bc I thought I was gonna get frozen as well hahaha. Thanks for the reply!

[@BrianFunkMusic]

@@wasabi333 Every time I learn something new, it makes its way into a new song idea. So as long as you keep creating and trying new things, it only seems to increase our musical range!

[@NikList]

Thanks for the thoughts, Brian. I totally agree, making music is like surfing: the only purpose is for the fun of it. Once you drop the ego, you can focus on the enjoyment of the process alone. Karma Yoga, process thinking, cultivating the Now.

[@BrianFunkMusic]

Great analogy! That's one of the reasons I love to surf! You just kind of go with what is given and enjoy it for its own sake. And when you talk about yoga, people call it a practice. The point is the thing itself! It's only when I start hoping for outcomes that I lose the enjoyment!

[@theheartstringvirtuoso]

The only place for Ai bands are at Chuck E Cheese

[@BrianFunkMusic]

🤣

[@spenzakwsx4430]

i think it the future (very soon) it will be important to show the human factor behind your music to the audience (live videos).. otherwise they won't believe you anymore that it is made by you. and there will be a lot of ppl that dont care.

[@BrianFunkMusic]

I think you might be right! Maybe we are already there. Even with the shear amount of human-made music out there, having a good story can help you stand out from the crowd.

[@ramspencer5492]

I have a big problem with the weather implementing AI music! It's actually set up to steal parts, phrasing, grooves, instruments... Morphing two or more voices together... Directly copying them... And just changing things enough to avoid obvious copyright infringement! It's horrible what they're doing! There needs to be a lot more transparency! It's literally sucking the soul out of people's performances and regurgitating it with enough changes to possibly sneak past copyright laws! It's big problem

[@BrianFunkMusic]

It's something that will need to be figured out, that's for sure!

[@indurolog]

The main thought - musician has to be a blogger.

[@BrianFunkMusic]

It's a way to help communicate the story. But we can also do it for the sake of doing it. Also, I think we can look at the sharing of the story as part of the creative process.

[@indurolog]

@@BrianFunkMusic There is nothing new here. Music media used to do this before, but now the musician has to do it himself. As well as doing many other things like promotion, music videos, organizing live shows and so on.

[@BrianFunkMusic]

@@indurolog There are so many things I got involved in because of music!

[@kristofwynants]

I love that old piano pack of yours. In fact it appears in a release of mine. It's been long overdue to notify you, I know, but I still thought it's the nice thing to do. In case I want to share this track with you, how do you want to go about this? Don't want to leave a shameless plug here. Keep up the good content, long time follower here, at least 12 years. All the best

[@BrianFunkMusic]

That's great to hear! I'd love for you to post it. Please plug away! If you don't plug your music, who will!? If you aren't comfortable with that though, email me: [e-mail]... But I'm ok with you putting it here!

[@PoboyMusic]

100 year old piano is great!

[@BrianFunkMusic]

@@PoboyMusic Glad you like it! Let me know if you make any music with it!

[@PoboyMusic]

@@BrianFunkMusic will do. I just saw this video about Prince work ethic and realize I've been slacking. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3SqlIeDlMyeatUsi=UOQW1Bx_G-O2QkIZ

[@GrillChillDavis]

Can AI perform onstage? Nope. Me personally I make music because I like to. It is not a living and most likely never will be. Ghost, KISS, Ozzy, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, they all have a great stage performance. Music is entertainment but made better by the show and atmosphere created by these bands. We may end up with musicians doing live on stage covers of AI music but the stage presence will always be there I think. Or the AI music will be created in conjunction with real life musicians/performers directing the AI programming and outcome.

[@BrianFunkMusic]

Yes, it will be hard to replicate those experiences. And while collaborating with AI is pretty interesting, it still doesn't compare to working with another human!

[@neatfreak2180]

A.I. music is for the NPC's and the sheeple. The real musicians, artists and fans will not listen to A.I. However, platforms like Spotify are being very deceitful with A.I. musicians. This way they get all of the proceeds and do not have to pay real persons, real creators and artists. It's not cool at all 🤨

[@BrianFunkMusic]

The part about streaming platforms flooding the services with AI music is scary. So many of us listen to playlists around certain moods or activities. To think that those types of playlists will be generated is a little frightening. But hopefully, people will start to yearn for some authenticity. Hopefully!

[@djkanyon]

Me as a musician i can see no problem. My calculator count better than me and Google translate thing better than i do, If AI makes better music that i do .... thank goodness! I want to hear best music possible and if computers can produce it i'm all for it

[@BrianFunkMusic]

I guess that's a good way of looking at it!

[@Dystopian84]

as long as you don't fool yourself into believing that you made what has been generated by an AI . as long as it just devalues music making and art ... by allowing the average imbecile to produce finished results within seconds with no work and no talent . I am all for it

[@Shyeep]

I'm part of the AI music takeover :) I been making great music day after day.

[@Dystopian84]

not " making " lol , when no tools are involved , just simple text ... it would be less comical to use " I have been generating " instead . It is important to remember that " making " requires actual talent and actual work

[@BrianFunkMusic]

uh oh!! Look out!

[@checktheneck]

seems like you haven't played enough with current AI services, much of what you have shown is done in suno and udio just by adding 1-2 tags. I agree that a neural network doesn't make an artistic case for why it did this or that, and can't give its music extra backstory, but that doesn't stop it from sounding almost exactly like the things you showed (randomly overloaded elements, vsh/tape processing, etc). Speaking of imperfections, just at the current stage there are just so many of them in the results of AI music services, and some random things sound actually WOW, I've been amazed a couple times. I don't mean to say by this that a neural network makes better music or even as well as a human, but I just don't find your arguments the most convincing

[@BrianFunkMusic]

I could imagine a desire to capture some AI "mistakes" in music, like artifacts or strange misinterpretations. You have a good point. I just heard a song that sounded like a 70s funk band. It had the groove, interesting sounds, and a vintage recording sound. I was a bit shocked lol! One point I'm trying to make is taking the time to make the process interesting. How do you feel about all this? Any thoughts or ideas on how to "survive" as a musician?