Singing with Technology
Anyone ready for the final song of the Beatles?
In an interview with the BBC, Sir Paul McCartney claimed that AI enabled him to create the final record of the Beatles, which will be released later this year. With the help of AI, he was able to extract John Lennon’s vocals from an old Beatles demo, allowing him to complete the record even after the passing of Lennon and fellow member George Harrison.
My earliest memory of the intersection of AI with music was when my friend sent me an Instagram edit with an AI-generated, duet version of Taylor Swift’s song “Style” that featured none other than Harry Styles. On hearing it, we were taken aback by how real and raw the track sounded. In that moment, I realised what the convergence of AI technology and entertainment could mean for the future of the music industry.
Artificial intelligence is a double-edged sword, specifically in entertainment. In the modern age, AI can be a great addition to the music industry. Just like in the Beatles song, it enables musicians to isolate vocals and particular instrumentals, and use them for multiple purposes in varied forms. One could rearrange the stems of a song, or create new tracks for various purposes, such as the score of a movie. For example, Rodney Jerkins, a producer, used AI technology to pull an audio of Wu-Tang Clan’s Ol’ Dirty Bastard off a VHS tape and used it to sample a SZA track. In this sense, AI is a tool that helps us to reimagine and restructure music in ways we wouldn’t expect. Some professionals in the industry are encouraging artists to embrace the technology and use it to their benefit. When pitching records, for instance, it can help publishers show a team of writers what an artist’s voice may sound like on a track, without actually having a demo singer come in and record the track.
So yes, AI can be useful, effective and efficient. However, its overlap with music can be dangerous as well. Earlier this year, a TikTok user created the song “Heart on my Sleeve,” for which the vocals generated by AI were scarily similar to those of Drake and The Weeknd. The song was released on Spotify, racking up over 275,000 streams and fifteen million views on TikTok. This seemingly innocent use of technology caused havoc in the industry and the song was pulled from multiple platforms. Massive record labels, including Universal Music Group, urged large streaming platforms like Spotify to train their software to identify AI, and the Recording Industry Association of America warned the platforms against a massive influx of copyright infringement cases if this continued. So, why did something as seemingly trivial as a TikTok audio become such a big deal?
The above case is problematic because AI was used to replicate the vocals of these big Canadian names without crediting them. As a result, they were not compensated for each stream and someone else was profiting off their talent. Fortunately, the music was removed from streaming sites, and the artists involved paid little attention to the incident. However, if this were to happen again on a larger scale, it might lead to a plethora of lawsuits alleging trademark and copyright infringement.
The music industry has faced similar issues before with the hit streaming service “Napster” that was a peer-to-peer file sharing network. Now, the problem with a service like Napster is that the freedom it provided for anyone to download and stream music became a medium for people to pirate copyrighted music without payment or permission from its rightful owners. Further, before this music was a collectible, with the rise of streaming it had become a disposable commodity. This in turn led to the infamous Metallica and Dr. Dre vs Napster lawsuit, where they accused the platform of copyright infringement. How does this all relate back to AI?
AI, in this case is like Napster, allowing everyone free reign on music in every sphere. There is a large amount of thought that goes into the creative process of making a song and it is frightening to think that, today, with the help of AI and a couple of clicks, the next hit song can be created. As an outsider looking into the music industry, this makes me wonder if the future of music is reflecting its past history? Human emotion plays a massive role in the success of entertainment. Most people listen to music because they relate to it or find solace in the lyrics, and when a song is artificially created, it loses that human touch that makes a song so special. Live entertainment also brings communities together and unites people from every race, class, gender and more. With AI technology infiltrating the industry at the rate that it has, the future of many of these aspects remain left to the unknown.
As with any new and upcoming technology, AI is riddled with both positives and negatives. As consumers of music and other media, we should not be too quick to completely condemn any works created with the help of AI, but rather recognize the positives in light of the negatives. As we witness the release of this new Beatles track, we should listen with an open but critical mind. Is AI being utilized intelligently to foster creative merit, or is it simply being abused to expedite the process of garnering streams and popularity?
