The End is Nigh - the future of popular music

[castalla]

Game over?

An AI-generated band got 1m plays on Spotify. Now music insiders say listeners should be warned

The Velvet Sundown released two albums before admitting their music, images and backstory were created by AI

www.theguardian.com

 

[slartibartfast]

Game over?

An AI-generated band got 1m plays on Spotify. Now music insiders say listeners should be warned

The Velvet Sundown released two albums before admitting their music, images and backstory were created by AI

www.theguardian.com

It can't be worse than Kylie's new Christmas song

 

[JAB]

This was reported 6 months ago already.

 

[Groove Catcher]

Sadly yes, even the big record labels are investing in the app “Suno ai”. They couldn’t care less if it’s computer generated. As long as they make money that’s all they care about.

 

[castalla]

This was reported 6 months ago already.

Probably read and understood by only a couple of hundred people....

 

[JAB]

When watching the numbers of Spotify subscribers I am tempted to say: They do not deserve better.

 

[castalla]

It can't be worse than Kylie's new Christmas song

Are we sure it's actually Kylie? The song itself seems to only available via Amazon Music.

I think we as consumers are woefully unaware of just how AI is being employed in the media world...
How long will it be before the terminators arrive demanding our clothes, boots and motorcycles?

 

[JAB]

I am waiting for King AI who tells me that music I've chosen is not good for me and it is prohibited. It is always the old song, the best meant technology is too easy to abuse.
"Hinter der Trommel trotten die Kälber. Das Fell für die Trommel liefern sie selber." (Bertolt Brecht)

 

[castalla]

Nice quote... but I'm not too convinced that AI is a positive development given our past history. What we see at the moment is a bit like the Teflon non-stick pan spinoff from the space & ballistic missile technology of the 20th century. All sorts of claims are being made about how AI will transform medicine, economic development, etc.

 

[DazST]

Of course it won't be good for humanity overall when it's controlled by corporations and "regulated" by governments who are effectively also controlled by corporations.

 

[Groove Catcher]

Of course it won't be good for humanity overall when it's controlled by corporations and "regulated" by governments who are effectively also controlled by corporations.

In the US the communications act of 1996 resulted in massive media mergers and consolidation. It basically destroyed local radio where you could actually discover new artists. The result was cost cutting and less jobs. Go figure. CEO’s made millions and screwed the little guy. This was all before the internet got huge. Now enter A.I. The more things change the more they stay the same. Same cycle.

 

[castalla]

Of course it won't be good for humanity overall when it's controlled by corporations and "regulated" by governments who are effectively also controlled by corporations.

But, will it be good for the music industry. If it sounds like a duck, performs like a duck, then it's a duck. Will the average music consumer really care? Technology has been used for decades by artists & performers to great effect. Why not use AI to even greater effect?

 

[castalla]

In the US the communications act of 1996 resulted in massive media mergers and consolidation. It basically destroyed local radio where you could actually discover new artists. The result was cost cutting and less jobs. Go figure. CEO’s made millions and screwed the little guy. This was all before the internet got huge. Now enter A.I. The more things change the more they stay the same. Same cycle.

Not sure it's the same cycle.... AI seems to me to be a paradigm shift (cf. the printing press, the steam engine, nuclear technology). At some point in the near future, it's predicted that AI will achieve 'singularity' when it will effectively become independent from human control. Brave New World!

 

[JAB]

Think about the three laws from Asimov!

 

[DazST]

But, will it be good for the music industry. If it sounds like a duck, performs like a duck, then it's a duck. Will the average music consumer really care? Technology has been used for decades by artists & performers to great effect. Why not use AI to even greater effect?

Well yes, if by "music industry" you primarily mean the big media corporations and recording labels.

 

[Groove Catcher]

Not sure it's the same cycle.... AI seems to me to be a paradigm shift (cf. the printing press, the steam engine, nuclear technology). At some point in the near future, it's predicted that AI will achieve 'singularity' when it will effectively become independent from human control. Brave New World!

Once it achieves singularity will it run the music industry

 

[castalla]

Once it achieves singularity will it run the music industry

The big problem is that nobody knows how AI will develop if it achieves singularity.

To my mind, its Achilles heel lies in how it will develop & maintain the power grids necessary to run the computer infrastructures necessary. Earlier this year there was the first country-wide power failure in Spain, and as yet there is no agreement on how this came about. It was a scary experience once people realised it wasn't just a localised blackout but nationwide, and included mobile networks (in fact everything). The only power available for almost 18 hours was from diesel & battery generators. No ATMS, no petrol pumps, absolutely nothing.

There is a lot of discussion already about how certain types of jobs are being replaced by AI systems with the assumption that jobs such as care-workers, construction workers, etc. will be difficult to replace. The doomsday scenario is that AI will 'decide' that human maintenance is superfluous to its own ends.

 

[FuckaZip]

When AI was used to restore John Lennon's vocals from an old tape, it did a good job, see “Now and Then" the Beatles. To that extent, I think it's tolerable. Artificial bands or bands generated entirely by AI are a no-go.

In principle, AI is spreading into all areas. In the world of work, technical documentation, contracts, and “personal” emails already clearly bear its mark... Sometimes flawed, sometimes very professional.

Both a blessing and a curse.