The future of AI and music is coming into focus. It does not look good for human artists
Global News
This past week may go down in history as when we as a species decided that the future of music lay in music created by artificial intelligence.
The record executives had gathered in the back corner of an exclusive private club, sipping from crystal highball glasses, each with a large square ice cube. A bottle of 40-year-old Macallan, already two-thirds empty, sat on the table.
“Artists are so difficult,” the Brit complained. “They’re finicky, unreliable, and refuse to believe that creativity should be something that turns on like a light switch. I mean, how hard can it be?
The petite woman from Seoul in charge of most of the music market in East Asia spoke next. “It’s true,” she said, “And they’re always whining about being mistreated. ‘Streaming doesn’t pay’ and ‘I need more money.’ I never want to hear anyone on my label complain about having to post things on social media every day. I mean, how hard is it to go viral with every post?”
The Sao Paulo man rubbed the bridge of his nose. “And the fans! They’re so unpredictable — and ungrateful when it comes to the music we give them. Can’t they just consume and shut up?”
There were a few moments of silence before the American stood up. “Ladies and gentlemen, those were the bad old days. Thanks to artificial intelligence, we are now in complete control of ALL the music.” He raised his glass and everyone stood up.
“Congratulations, everyone! We have finally managed to take the artist out of art!”
They clinked their glasses so hard that two of them cracked.
A far-fetched dystopian view of the music of the future? Or the shape of things to come? I’d vote for the latter.
