AI Music is Here (To Stay?)
What will AI do to the music industry? Opinion from an amateur music producer
Earlier this week, I spent some time messing around with Suno AI for a piece of content I wanted to make. I hadn’t used it before, but I had heard some of the stuff it made.
The moment I heard the first song I “made” with it, my jaw dropped. I seriously couldn’t believe what I was listening to. I knew this was something. It didn’t sound fully human, and not all of the songs it created were that good, but the latter happens to all artists!
This event hit me especially hard because I’ve been an amateur music producer for some years. I like to say I know how to enjoy and appreciate music in more detail than most people. I pay attention to the different elements—how they are panned, what type of effects have been added, etc.
Like other AI technologies, music generation is still in its early stages. In 1 year, the quality of the songs produced by Suno will probably be 10x better than it is now, and the user will be able to give more specific instructions. Something I wonder is if will be able to generate the stems for that song. Stems can be defined as the different audio tracks used in a song (vocal tracks, drums tracks, bass tracks, etc.)
If Suno or any other AI music producer had the capability to not only produce a song but also differentiate the individual elements and return them separately, that would mean a vast improvement. The user could then ask the AI to modify a specific component, say, a guitar that doesn't sound great. The user could also delete tracks or import these tracks into a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) like FL Studio and add self-created additional tracks, as well as add effects like compression or reverb. Anyone could have a band at their disposition.
Now, moving on to the more philosophical aspect of the subject, will AI kill human-generated music? Should we ban it?
No, and no. AI will make music better, not worse. Music has an inherent human element. It’s supposed to be a creative expression and evoke certain feelings in the listeners. AI, at least so far, doesn't have any feelings, which makes connecting with an AI-generated tune very hard.
AI will serve as an assistant. It will provide ideas, but it won’t have any of its own. Someone still needs to be in charge of prompting the software and modifying the results to fit the musician's idea. This will only be true if my previously mentioned idea about Suno crafts stems turns out to be possible. If not, AI will be rather useless. It might replace mediocre artists, and it could work for elevator music, but it won’t make something like Sultans of Swing.
Another point that I’d like to make is that AI won’t give concerts. And, if they did, who would go to those? Live music is impossible to substitute, and this is a case I haven’t heard anyone make. People will keep demanding concerts, festivals, and live music at bars, and this service is better provided by real humans. Bands and artists will keep existing and making the music most of us will listen to on a daily basis, and AI will be relegated to things like background or ad music.
To finish up, I want to reiterate that I don’t see services like Suno bad, even as a music lover. I think technology has mostly been beneficial, and this trend will continue in the future. There’s always a lot of resistance when new innovations surge, and that’s a natural process, but we need to get over it, at least in this particular case. When it comes to regulations, I believe they do more harm than good. Regulators generally don’t know enough about this technology to make the right decisions regarding how it should be used. The people and the market should decide that.
I hope you enjoyed this post! I’d love to hear your opinion about AI and music! If you liked what you read, consider subscribing! Please leave a comment or message me on X, Instagram, or Facebook, and we can chat! Thanks for reading!
I mean, it's not like I can tell which field AI is going to take over next, but in a field like electronic music, where technology is already a big part, I wouldnt be shocked.
No worries, keep up the good work!
You mention that AI cannot make concerts. But what is the difference of a DJ playing their own music, or music generated with AI?
And to take it a step further, why do you think it is unthinkable that we would have a computer throwing a concert, where popular AI songs are editted and combined on the spot for a unique live performance?