The artists are fighting back – but is it a losing battle?
Over the past couple years we’ve seen AI-generated music take off like a rocket on TikTok and other platforms. With advances in technology, a lot of these songs are nearly indistinguishable from the real thing, which obviously poses a risk to actual artists, songwriters, and fans who value real art over AI slop.
Plenty of artists have spoken out against AI-generated songs that attempt to copy their own voices, with Tennessee even passing legislation to prevent the spread of these “deep fakes.” But when it comes to creating original music entirely with AI, there’s not many barriers to entry – which means that we’re only going to see it happen more often.
A year or so ago I wrote an article here about a bunch of AI-generated “artists” posting covers of popular country songs on Spotify. But since then, things have only gotten worse, and now we’re even seeing AI-generated songs on the Billboard charts.
A song called “Walk My Walk” by an AI-generated artist “named” Breaking Rust recently topped the Billboard Country Digital Song Sales chart, and over on the pop side of things a bidding war even broke out between record labels for an AI-generated artist named Xania Monet.
At this point, it may be too late to put that genie back in the bottle. But that doesn’t mean that artists won’t try. (You know, actual human artists).
Earlier this year, over 1,000 artists teamed up with for a protest album called Is This What We Want? in an attempt to pressure the British government to stop technology companies from using their work to train their AI models, which would obviously make it easier for AI to replicate an actual artist’s sound.
The “album” includes 12 silent tracks that feature nothing but the noise of empty studios and performance spaces, meant to send a message that empty studios would be the result if AI-generated music were allowed to replace actual artists. Artists involved in the campaign include heavyweights like Billy Ocean, The Clash, Cat Stevens, legendary composer Hans Zimmer, and even the iconic Royal Albert Hall music venue.
But now the campaign has received a big boost thanks to one of the greatest living songwriters and best-selling artists of all time.
Paul McCartney is releasing his own “song” on the album, which will be included on the B-side of the vinyl dropping December 8. And like all the others, the song by McCartney won’t feature his legendary songwriting but will instead simply be 2 minutes and 45 seconds of the sound of an empty studio.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: Why would anybody buy a vinyl that’s just 13 tracks of silence? But all the profits from the album are actually going to the charity Help Music, an organization helps support musicians, so it’s not like they’re doing this to make money from it.
The point, obviously, is to bring attention to what the proliferation of AI would do to all of those who make music from a living. And make no mistake, it wouldn’t just be the artists or songwriters: Musicians, engineers, producers, recording studios, all would be affected if AI takes over the music business.
Not to mention the incredible art we’d be missing out on if we left it all up to a computer.
