Play that funky AI-generated music

The music industry is yet again at another crossroad. This time, over AI-generated music. From only live music, to it entering homes via gramophone and radio, the music delivery express then boarded cassette players and cars that took it to the street, followed by portable CD players that liberated music-listening to just about anywhere. Each advance in distribution killed the preceding technology. Till Napster - if anyone remembers that 'revolutionary' peer-to-peer MP3 file-sharing service - confronted the music industry with its gravest existential crisis over unlicensed content. Apple and Spotify salvaged the situation for musicians with streaming platforms. But now they, too, must face up to licence-free synthetic music becoming top of the pops.

AI-generated music has already entered mainstream commercial tallies like Billboard and Spotify charts, driven by high-volume synthetic track uploads and virtual acts like Breaking Rust and Velvet Sundown. Frontier AI models train on data to produce music indistinguishable from that of human creators. Record labels can improve their economics by automating a chunk of their production process. AI can shape listening habits to create preference for synthetic music. Unlicensed music is back in an entirely new avatar, and the industry is yet to figure out solutions. Partly because these exist beyond its domain. Lawmakers need to decide if AI models should be allowed to train on copyrighted music. Countries have to come together on how technical music is created and labelled. Labels and platforms can widen access to artist revenue through interactive remixes and creatives.

Entry-level commercial creativity can't be protected against AI music. But high-end human artistry must be available for even synthetic content to grow. AI can function as a powerful tool that could inspire new genres and empower independent artists. Yet, unregimented genAI can trigger a race to the bottom in pricing, devaluing the craft. These raucous questions should not be left unsung for too long.