If you’re a songwriter and you’ve been paying attention to how AI has been impacting the world of music, you’re probably feeling more than a bit of anxiety. Things are changing quickly, and I think it’s definitely not an exaggeration to say that today’s AI generated songs and performances can fool a lot of (and maybe most) people.
There’s a good video online that describes the top ten AI songs — as of last year, which seems to be an eternity in this industry — that gives a good overview of how computers have become major players in today’s music world: “Top 10 AI Generated Songs“, by WatchMojo.com. It even mentions “Illiac Suite”, a computer-generated string quartet from 1957, which I’ve written about back in 2013 on this blog (‘What the “Illiac Suite” Taught Us About Music‘.)
With sites like Udio, Soundverse and others, “you” can create a song with a few taps of your finger, including lyrics and virtual performers. As I say, if you’re a songwriter, you might be feeling a bit of anxiety: it may take you a month to write your next song, but if the average listener can’t tell the difference between AI and you, does that hard work you put into your song actually matter anymore?
My answer is yes, it’s still worth writing songs the old-fashioned way, spending time honing your melodies, chord choices and lyrics. And perhaps at this point a good analogy from real life might help you keep things in perspective. When The Beatles made their first big impacts, especially with their albums Rubber Soul and Revolver, they caused other singer-songwriters to sit up and notice.
And feel what might called a kind of depression, a kind of “What’s the point?” It seemed that great songs were coming out of the brains of Lennon & McCartney (and then Harrison) with such ease that it made other songwriters feel that they were always a step behind.
But of course songwriters still kept writing. Because it doesn’t matter how good “A Day in the Life” is. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is still a fantastic song. And the world is happily filled with great songs that had nothing to do with Lennon & McCartney, except that John and Paul’s music raised everyone’s game.
To answer the question What should AI mean to you as a songwriter, you have to ask yourself this more important question: Why are you writing songs in the first place?
If your primary reason for writing songs is to express yourself in an artistic way, to touch the hearts and minds of those who are listening, and to create something you might call a work of art, then AI should not be changing that at all. You can still write songs that are expressive, fulfilling, and effective.
I think AI is an amazing achievement. What it does well today is going to get better tomorrow. But in my opinion that should not at all mean that you should stop your own creative pursuits. Yes, it’s still worth working at becoming a better songwriter, a better musician.
Building your fanbase means increasing the number of people that want to hear you — your songs, your voice your artistic approach. And AI, no matter how good it gets, is never going to change that.
Written by Gary Ewer. Follow Gary on Twitter.
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