Music vs AI

(Because artists and songwriters aren't getting fucked over enough...)

AI is concerning at best, terrifying at worse. AI in music is unoriginal and plastic at best, career-ending at worse.

I do not claim to be an expert in AI - I'm not entirely convinced any one person can be an expert in something that changes so rapidly and regularly - but like everyone, I have thoughts in relation to my own experience. In lecturing work, I am regularly confronted with AI-generated written work that causes students to then fail the module (it's plagiarism babes, its really not that deep). In my artist development work, I'm greeted with panicked artists and songwriters concerned by what they're reading and seeing in the trade papers and general news.

The moral question

The questions about AI tend to understandably centre on the morality of it but before delving into that specific circle of hell, we should broach the two different aspects of AI which are process and output. Are we more pissed off about the shit music that has been created by learning/stealing from Chuck Berry or are we more concerned that our music has been training AI for years without the say so of the creators and owners of that music?

It is surely both, but both require different arguments. Which brings me back to the morality angle. Changes will come from a sociopathic legal position with Music Copyright lawyers and recording contract obsessives leading the charge. Change is very unlikely to be motivated by the morality of situation.

the Music Industry has never been blasé about copyright and as a result is one of the most legally protected creative industries in the world. Everything from song splits, performance rights, who owns the songwriting, who owns the masters etc. We copyright vibes for christssake and the major labels had no issue handing out enormous fines to university students in the Napster days.

Which is the bigger concern for the industry though: protecting the artists intellectual property so they are recognised and remunerated accordingly or protecting the intellectual property on their books so they get paid.

"But what about the indie labels and companies who do all sorts of artists and songwriters?! Cynical cow, be nice!" Of course there are good people and good companies working in and for the music industry. People who holistically and collectively work to develop and promote boss creatives and their art. But there simply aren't enough of them and there certainly aren't enough of them working together to make a radical difference to the remuneration of artists and songwriters despite their best efforts. This is against the backdrop of the major labels reducing from 6 to 2 as they gradually bought one another out, coupled with competition concerns in streaming all of which is surrounded by questions as to whether it is legal or not.

With the ferocious and protracted legal battles over rights (Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Bay City Rollers to name a very few), there are many well-documented cases of artists and songwriters who are over a barrel with some aspect of their representatives, usually their label, because of a bad deal done when they were baby artists and didn't know any better. Raye, being on the (un)receiving end of one such bad deal, fought tooth and nail and thankfully emerged victorious but none of these victories are without cost, financial and psychological.

The more recent reminder of this mindset is the recent confirmation of Spotify's fake artists that they seeded throughout their platform, cynically repurposing the same song under numerous different "artist" names, all for Spotify's gain. The original investigation was brought to the fore by Liz Pelly and summarised brilliantly by Ted Gioia in this Substack post.

It is a cynical look at industry, I admit, but a necessary one informed by the industry's prior behaviours. The music industry at large has never morally struggled with undercutting the creators and innovators of music. Are the people leading the charge in Music vs AI considering artists or their bottom line? It can be both of course but only to a degree.

I fear that without a more connected approach that incorporates more of the moral consideration, we will find ourselves in 5 years time, wading through a stinking bog of shit musical content (I refuse to call it music or art), the vast majority of which isn't human-made and with no way back from it. Like that scene in NeverEnding Story only we’re the poor horse.

I’m still not over this.

The larger question

A parallel that is not too dissimilar and could foreshadow what is to come is the Industrial Revolution. I know I KNOW. Anyone reading this who has been through the British school system is currently twitching at the thought of a sodding Spinning Jenny, but bare with.

The issue then, as it is now, isn't necessarily the replacement of skilled labour with automation (though that is an concern) but the often forgotten question of who benefits from AI in favour of morality and ecological concerns (again, also important).

Because it will not be creators making economic gains and advantages nor will it be those people whose skills are being replaced. The sinister irony is that without us and our data, AI would be useless. Without artists, there is no art (until AI learns from it and steals it). Despite us providing our data for years, we will not benefit economically from AI’s ubiquity. And frankly, that is a shit deal.

We’ve all seen it, most of us agree, what are we doing about it?

The action question

All of the above, coupled with the advancement of better quality generative AI doesn't bode well for musicians and creatives alike. It's also dark as fuck, full of bitterness and rage.

So what, if anything, can we do about AI and its impacts on music?

Regulation

In the UK, there is currently no general regulation of AI other than the "various areas of law [that] touch on AI regulation in practice". UK Music have also made recommendations to government in the shape of five principles it wants adopted.

Regulation, amongst other things, slows the process down which in our obnoxiously fast world is an irritation and often feels unnecessary. But a more considered pace with something as enormous and speedy as AI is no bad thing. The creeping colonisation of back catalogues that have not been fastidiously protected from educating AI should a deep concern to musicians, creatives and people in general (though they may not know it yet) and as a result should be initially regulated until there is a better understanding.

Protect everything

As in, protect everything that you do. Add a clause on your invoice that states that any and all work you do for that company should be protected from training any and all AI. I am not a lawyer and it may not legally stand up in a court of law, but it makes your intentions explicit whilst the big boys pour over enquiries and pontificate on panel discussions. I would also get into a habit of asking to see the client/company AI policy. There likely won't be one, but again, by raising such a question you make your intentions clear regarding your art and artistry.

Work with those bigger than you

This is where I write like a boomer in a Facedick group over fly-tipping but write to your MP. Raise your concerns legitimately, calmly and factually in order to get it logged with people who could actually raise this with the Minister responsible (Lisa Nandy in this case currently). MPs also have to respond to your letter in writing. Then start speaking with the trade bodies you are a member of: PRS, PPL, The Ivors, The MU, AIM, UK Music etc etc. They are all talking about AI and are worried too so see how you can engage, elevate and support that.

Work with other artists

She's banging on about collective action again but seriously: start working with other musicians and creatives for your common interests. If there is a group of you that regularly play the same open mic for or you've ended up on a Whatsapp group that has loads of creatives in it, raise the subject and talk it out.

Resources

This is a constantly changing situation, especially with legislation being drawn up in the UK and EU coupled with the return of the orange fella and his gang of merry oligarchs. I found/find these useful, alongside general news updates about AI.

The Music Industry’s AI fight - Switched On Pop (podcast)

Data in the Music Industry - Data Today (podcast)

UK Music, The Musicians Union, Complete Music Update (websites)