The music industry is once again a boiling caldron of opinions over new technology entering the space. This time regarding AI Music generation.
“AI will destroy human creativity”
“Real musicians won’t be able to survive financially”
“The internet will drown in fake artists”
“Music is losing its humanity”
“Corporations will replace artists with machines”
“Authenticity itself is collapsing”
Matt Walsh called it an abomination in a recent post on X and in a video on Facebook he said he wanted AI dead… I completely understand and respect the reaction. We’ve seen it before, many many times.
When player pianos became popular, many feared, live pianists would become obsolete, families would stop learning instruments, music would become “mechanical..” But what really happened? Player pianos, spread music into homes, increased interest in songs, created new music publishing markets.
Human performers didn’t disappear.
When records were first created people feared, concerts would die, musicians would lose jobs and recorded performances were “fake.” Some musicians’ unions even fought recordings because they believed “Canned music” would destroy performance culture. Instead, recordings created the modern music industry. Artists reached millions more fans and entirely new genres spread globally.
Traditionalists said electric guitars weren’t “real” instruments, removed purity from music and relied on amplification instead of talent. When Bob Dylan went electric at Newport in 1965, parts of the audience literally booed him. Now electric guitar is considered one of the most expressive instruments ever created.
When drum machines were invented people called it “lazy” and sampling was “stealing” and hip-hop wasn’t “real music.” Now, the 808 is legendary, sampling is considered an art form, and hip-hop became a dominant global genre.
Auto-Tune caused massive outrage: “nobody can sing anymore” – “technology is faking talent” – “music is dead.” Now Auto-Tune is everywhere: subtle correction on countless records and creative stylistic effects are accepted as part of production. Even artists who criticized it often used it, albeit lightly.
When DAW’s (Digital Audio Workstation’s) became affordable, digital recording exploded. Professionals feared dilution of their craft, people said home studios would ruin quality, and labels feared oversaturation. Instead, more creators emerged, indie artists gained power, entirely new careers became possible. A teenager with a laptop can now make a global hit.
What Makes AI Different?
AI is different in some important ways:
• It can imitate styles quickly
• It lowers technical barriers dramatically
• It raises real ethical/legal questions
• It increases content saturation massively
Those concerns are legitimate, but the emotional panic itself is not new.
Historically, audiences still end up valuing:
• Authenticity
• Emotional connection
• Storytelling
• Identity
• Personality
• Human meaning
People don’t just connect to sound. They connect to the artist’s story, the voice behind the song, lived experience, vulnerability, and intent. That’s hard to automate fully.
In my case — I write my own lyrics and shape songs around family stories, memories, personal and shared experiences — I’m not an accomplished musician. I am a writer who has used my writing skills to make a living for over 30 years, who now wants to turn my lyrics into fully produced songs and generative AI is making that possible where it really wasn’t before. Is that bad or wrong? I think it’s only bad or wrong IF I was trying to pass AI off as me. I don’t do that. I am fully transparent about my use of generative AI to produce the music and vocals in my songs. I am the lyricist. I don’t claim to be the composer, vocalist, or musician.
I like to say a song has a body and a soul. The body is the music and vocal. The soul is the lyric. A piece of instrumental music can be beautiful and wonderful to listen to, but add lyrics and it now has meaning that can be communicated to the listener.
I’m just trying to do what many successful songwriters and artists did as they adapted to new technologies in the past: using new tools while still bringing a human creative element to the music. I’m now experimenting with a DAW to create melodies, record my own vocals, and then plug those original creations with my lyrics into a generative AI platform to produce songs that have even more of me, and my creative processes in them.
I would love to be able to go into a recording studio with live musicians and record my songs, but that isn’t a financial reality for me and probably never will be. My goal is to give my lyrics life through music for people to listen to and enjoy, not to fool people into thinking I’m someone or something I’m not. Oh, and money is not my driver. If my songs never put a dime in my pocket that’s OK. I’m not doing this to get rich. If by some stroke of luck my music makes money it will only be due to people listening and liking it. Bonus!
The technology is changing, but the desire for emotionally meaningful songs we can connect with isn’t.
And remember, you always have a choice to listen and enjoy the music…or not.
