On this week’s show we continue our discussion of Rick Beato’s argument that music is too easy to make. We read your emails and take a look at the week’s news.

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Is Music Getting Worse? - A listener followup

I just listened to your podcast episode “Is Music Getting Worse,” related to Rick Beato’s YouTube video, which I also watched a few days ago. He raised some intriguing points, both about changes over the years with sampling, autotune, and quantization, as well as how AI will undoubtedly impact the industry as well. It's a fascinating and complex topic, and I wanted to share some thoughts.

First off, my daughter is a professional opera singer, so I am very sensitive to the fact that I would not want artists who are deep in their craft to be supplanted by technology. Losing the human aspect altogether would be a tragedy for us all, whether as creators or as consumers of music. Selfishly, for my daughter and for all artists, I want humans to be respected and compensated for the obvious heart and soul that they put into their craft.

With respect to AI, one major and well-founded concern is that relying too heavily on AI could lead to a homogenization of music, where unique, human-driven creativity could become overshadowed by algorithms, resulting in music that degrades to the mean and lacks soul.  Which I would argue has happened well before AI has come on the scene.

Having said that, AI also has the potential to enhance music production by automating tedious tasks and providing new tools for musicians, which could free up artists to focus more on the creative aspects of their work.

One aspect that often gets overlooked in these discussions is that music production isn't just about the creative performers—the singers and musicians. It involves a vast array of professionals, including audio and sound engineers, mastering engineers, and various other technical experts who all play a crucial role in shaping the final product. The Beatles used these talented engineers at Abbey Road to come up with iconic sounds that would never have been achievable by the members of the Beatles alone. So, one must ask, where is the line?

As AI improves and enables the creation of individual tracks, or stems (currently most AI song generators provide fully formed sound waves), it could open up new avenues to innovate and bring different types of music together by mixing and arranging music in virtually unlimited ways.

While the focus tends to be on how AI might impact the creative people who write, sing, and play songs, it's also worth considering how it could empower the broader community of producers. This technology might unlock new channels of creativity and collaboration that we haven't even imagined yet.

In addition, for the creators, the use of AI song/sound generators as “sketch pads” for fleshing out songs, similar to how demo tapes were used prior to final recording, is a fascinating thought exercise. It could serve as a tool to experiment and develop ideas before committing to a final version.  Or to bring an idea to a group of real musicians to refine and play live.

I’m a child of the 70s and 80s. I love Cheap Trick and the Scorps! I also love British new wave, Alt and Psychedelia. To “prove” a point, I used a service called UDIO. It is one of the services that you mentioned are being sued at the moment. I prompted the AI to give me song snippets in the style of British pop, Alt Rock, Psychedelia, etc. I took a bunch of these song snippets and stitched them together in a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), very much the same way that music producers currently “create” full-blown songs. I have attached the MP3 for your listening “pleasure” (take with a big grain of salt!).

I share this with you as a simple example of what could be. It is not a great song by any means; it’s derivative, it’s corny, and it will never make the charts, but that’s not the point. If it was streaming at a bar in the background, I wouldn’t think it was horrible; in fact, it might be great background music for that setting. And this is version 1 of this new technology. What will it be like in the next 5-10 years? I’ve been listening to you guys for at least that long. Think about how the audio and video industries have changed so dramatically during that time, whether with the 400-pound TVs you guys referenced or in the quality of streaming vs physical media we have seen over that time.

You guys questioned whether AI would be successful in music. I only have to look at throngs of people going to EDM concerts where there is no band, just a DJ playing “stream of consciousness” with audio loops to know that this technology will definitely have a place. The questions are, where, to what extent and how will the money flow??

Eager to hear your thoughts. Great show, and I appreciate your perspectives on all things home audio, video, and automation.

Joe Albanian

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