I’ll admit, this emergence of AI is a little bit freaky.
Knowing that there are already AI generators that can write papers, reports, and even music just by asking it to is something that’s really hard for me to wrap my head around.
Not to mention, the fact that these generators can basically create any picture or video you want of somebody or something, and it can look near completely authentic is also terrifying, but that’s a different story.
But speaking of the fact they could potentially be writing country songs is a whole different beast, because it could possibly completely do away with the songwriting business. All it takes is one AI written country song to be successful, and that could be all she wrote for those who’ve made a great living writing music.
Hell, we even tried it at Whiskey Riff. We asked AI to create a bro country song and the results were pretty spot on. Granted, writing bro country is lowest form of country music, but that’s kind of the point, right? How low the bar has been set?
And that’s why John Rich, of the country duo Big & Rich, isn’t worried about it.
He recently sat down for an interview with FOX News Digital, and bashed the modern state of country music, saying AI songwriting couldn’t be much worse:
“Could AI do any worse than some of the country singers that are out there right now? I’m not sure that’s even possible.”
However, he did say he doesn’t believe AI can replace the best songwriters in the business:
“Listen, you can’t replicate the great songwriters. You just can’t. I mean, you’re talking about Albert Einstein honky-tonk songwriters. I’d like to see AI write ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today.’
It ain’t gonna happen. Now, they might be able to take some redundant-sounding song and turn it into another redundant-sounding song, but that’s the state of country music as it is today anyways.”
Sure, I think we can all admit that mainstream country music between 2010 to 2016 or so was at rock bottom. Overproduced electronic beats and snap tracks could be found in just about any song played on the radio, while songwriters regurgitated the same country cliché buzzwords.
However, I think many of us will agree that mainstream country music has been on the upswing for the past few years (ever since Chris Stapleton burst on the scene), as big labels are finally signing pure country artists who are picking up a ton of steam in the mainstream, such as Cody Johnson and Lainey Wilson. And then you have non-mainstream artists like Zach Bryan, Turnpike Troubadours and Tyler Childers filling arenas, which was pretty unheard of even five years ago.
Not all hope is lost in mainstream country music, and I truly believe country music is going back to its roots. Sure, it isn’t George Jones and Waylon Jennings, and it may not be George Strait and Alan Jackson, but it is certainly better than it was only four to five years ago.
And as for AI making its way into country songwriting, how do we know it can’t write the “perfect country song?” It’s a robot…
I guess we’ll see what the future holds.
However, I do respect John Rich’s opinion, and we’re simply in a time where there’s so much uncertainty about how much power AI could possibly have in the future. Maybe AI wrote this entire blog? Kidding… but would you even know?
Anyways… speaking of “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” here’s a little George Jones:
