AI removes the most annoying part of music for business people — the musicians.
One way I am adapting my music to the ecosystem is abandoning the slick studio polish sound of modern recordings, and instead letting the output be raw and choppy. Letting the flaws shine through. The flaws are more interesting and also harder for the AI to replicate.
I love that approach. With AI, everything will start to look and sound the same: UI interfaces, marketing copy, song structure. So the best way to differentiate is through being the most human!
I agree and subscribe to this! I just recorded my third album in this style- live takes, very minimal edits and effects. The old way of recording has a warm feel to it that I really enjoy.
I do roots music so it's easy to get that effect- Since I know nothing about it I'm very curious, how do you do that with experimental EDM? What elements of production help differentiate from sound like AI production?
What I have published now doesn't reflect this, but it's mostly in the vocal artifacts that I incorporate into the song, almost as instrumentation using pitch correctors and filters, bit crushers, etc.
My next album will be all of this. I also use lots of non-traditional breaks, bridges, and constructions. very little verse, chorus, verse. Or when I record with my gf, we include the little riffs we do, discussing what we like, or if the cat meows and it shows up in the recording.
This is so heartening to read as an artist getting started building community slow and steady. It will be so interesting to see what happens with this shift
I make my own playlists, often adding songs I've heard on KEXP (tagline: "where the music matters"). The playlists the apps generate for me are just visual clutter on my apps' home screens. I don't think I've ever clicked one.
Emily! This was a life-giving read. Thank you for crafting it. It really seems like we're in a space and time where leaning into the imperfections that define us and the moments that can't be replicated (live) while jettisoning the channels that have failed us (streaming) is our future. Thank you for illuminating that so clearly!
"We don’t need more music, we need music we care about"
Love this line, it gets right to the heart & soul of all music lovers.
Caring counts in all walks of life, but with music the caring comes with passion for the artist, passion for the story, passion for the cultivated culture created by the artist.
Music evokes emotions and inspires, it can be defined as a connection to our innate spiritual nature.
All art is a connection to our inner selves, that gut feeling about what you like and don't like or what is right and wrong, it is this that is railing up against the soulless corporate greed of all AI generated art.
I suspect we’re transitioning to an older working artist model. Radio meant we were all listening to the same handful of superstar artists but that started to fall apart when radio collapsed and pirating rose up, exposing us to way more artists and encouraging a huge indie boom. Streaming ensures artists at least get a little bit of money for what would have been pirated but it’s an awesome way to be exposed to artists you never would have heard of. What we’ll see next, and are already seeing, are more local venues. Where I live there was hardly any local music scene other than the odd cover band but these days there’s new venues each week with really creative acts. To my eye it’s closer to pre-radio music when there were way more local artists and venues. It’ll be the rise of middle class artists and there will be a lot of them which could be really cool. The major barrier is affordable housing and benefits etc. If we can figure that out there will be musicians everywhere because they can take chances and all our lives will be richer for it. And housing was affordable a couple years ago so we know how to do it. Also: when I pirated music it was because I didn’t have money to buy new albums and would have just gone without had it not been for pirating, which also boils down to the affordability of life.
Great post, thank you. Thank you for your optimism. I do wonder if streaming could still be incorporated though - a streaming site where artists are paid fairly. There would probably be no superstars on this platform, just smaller artists, and subscribers who really want to hear new music.
Thank you, Jeff! It's a challenging time for sure, but ultimately I am an optimist.
What makes innovation in the streaming space challenging is that consumers now expect access to nearly all of recorded music, so any streaming service that offers a subset of that catalog will always struggle to compete. Experiences like TikTok or gaming have been able to do new things with music as a format because they don't rely on a complete catalog to be successful.
Do you remember something called Muzak? Basically bland elevator music. I think that's what AI music is. Nobody will willingly play that tripe except by mistake.
100%
AI removes the most annoying part of music for business people — the musicians.
One way I am adapting my music to the ecosystem is abandoning the slick studio polish sound of modern recordings, and instead letting the output be raw and choppy. Letting the flaws shine through. The flaws are more interesting and also harder for the AI to replicate.
I love that approach. With AI, everything will start to look and sound the same: UI interfaces, marketing copy, song structure. So the best way to differentiate is through being the most human!
💯💯💯
Yeah. I’ve been thinking about it too,
we have to be overly human.
I agree and subscribe to this! I just recorded my third album in this style- live takes, very minimal edits and effects. The old way of recording has a warm feel to it that I really enjoy.
I do roots music so it's easy to get that effect- Since I know nothing about it I'm very curious, how do you do that with experimental EDM? What elements of production help differentiate from sound like AI production?
What I have published now doesn't reflect this, but it's mostly in the vocal artifacts that I incorporate into the song, almost as instrumentation using pitch correctors and filters, bit crushers, etc.
My next album will be all of this. I also use lots of non-traditional breaks, bridges, and constructions. very little verse, chorus, verse. Or when I record with my gf, we include the little riffs we do, discussing what we like, or if the cat meows and it shows up in the recording.
Very cool, looking forward to it
🙏
Your article hit at exactly the right moment! I'm currently composing my Dear John letter to Spotify.
Can’t wait to read it! 👀
Exceptional summary of what I’ve been feeling for the last couple of years. And an exciting call for possibility!
Thank you so much! It’d definitely an uncertain time for many, but ultimately I am hopeful.
"The Amazon Basics of Music" really hits the mark. Great piece, Emily. I'm so glad you're covering this beat!
Thank you!
This is so heartening to read as an artist getting started building community slow and steady. It will be so interesting to see what happens with this shift
I make my own playlists, often adding songs I've heard on KEXP (tagline: "where the music matters"). The playlists the apps generate for me are just visual clutter on my apps' home screens. I don't think I've ever clicked one.
Emily! This was a life-giving read. Thank you for crafting it. It really seems like we're in a space and time where leaning into the imperfections that define us and the moments that can't be replicated (live) while jettisoning the channels that have failed us (streaming) is our future. Thank you for illuminating that so clearly!
Thank you for the very kind words!
"We don’t need more music, we need music we care about"
Love this line, it gets right to the heart & soul of all music lovers.
Caring counts in all walks of life, but with music the caring comes with passion for the artist, passion for the story, passion for the cultivated culture created by the artist.
Music evokes emotions and inspires, it can be defined as a connection to our innate spiritual nature.
All art is a connection to our inner selves, that gut feeling about what you like and don't like or what is right and wrong, it is this that is railing up against the soulless corporate greed of all AI generated art.
I suspect we’re transitioning to an older working artist model. Radio meant we were all listening to the same handful of superstar artists but that started to fall apart when radio collapsed and pirating rose up, exposing us to way more artists and encouraging a huge indie boom. Streaming ensures artists at least get a little bit of money for what would have been pirated but it’s an awesome way to be exposed to artists you never would have heard of. What we’ll see next, and are already seeing, are more local venues. Where I live there was hardly any local music scene other than the odd cover band but these days there’s new venues each week with really creative acts. To my eye it’s closer to pre-radio music when there were way more local artists and venues. It’ll be the rise of middle class artists and there will be a lot of them which could be really cool. The major barrier is affordable housing and benefits etc. If we can figure that out there will be musicians everywhere because they can take chances and all our lives will be richer for it. And housing was affordable a couple years ago so we know how to do it. Also: when I pirated music it was because I didn’t have money to buy new albums and would have just gone without had it not been for pirating, which also boils down to the affordability of life.
Do you see a boycott of streaming services and a lean towards physical music. Or at the least digital downloads?
Or are we to far down the convenient path?
Great piece Emily. Thank you. Full of hope despite the current situation.
Great post, thank you. Thank you for your optimism. I do wonder if streaming could still be incorporated though - a streaming site where artists are paid fairly. There would probably be no superstars on this platform, just smaller artists, and subscribers who really want to hear new music.
Thank you, Jeff! It's a challenging time for sure, but ultimately I am an optimist.
What makes innovation in the streaming space challenging is that consumers now expect access to nearly all of recorded music, so any streaming service that offers a subset of that catalog will always struggle to compete. Experiences like TikTok or gaming have been able to do new things with music as a format because they don't rely on a complete catalog to be successful.
Thank you, that makes sense.
For me, Spotify is a music player, not a catalog.
This is really, truly, excellent. Thank you
Do you remember something called Muzak? Basically bland elevator music. I think that's what AI music is. Nobody will willingly play that tripe except by mistake.
Right words well said