MusikTopics • October
Why the Fuss?
Music, technology, creativity and the different perspectives surrounding one of today's biggest conversations in music.
Are there different perspectives around this subject?
The answer is yes!!!
Some people can’t sing, but they have a singer’s heart. They hear music inside themselves. They have ideas, melodies, emotions, and stories they want to express, but they may not have the physical ability or musical training to perform what they hear.
Then AI came along and gave some of those people another way to express the singer that has always been in their heart.
Now, I’m a performing musician writing this article, which to some people might sound a little strange.
But bear with me for a moment.
Think about an everyday example. There are people with physical disabilities who use technology to help them walk, communicate, hear, or accomplish things that might otherwise be difficult for them.
Would it be fair to tell someone with a walking disability not to use technology that helps them walk?
Would it be fair to judge them for using an option that is available to improve their life?
I already know somebody is probably saying, “Are you calling people who use AI disabled?” No! LOL. That’s not what I’m saying at all.
I’m putting a spotlight on how quickly we can develop double standards when new technology enters an area we care deeply about.
Yes, it’s a dramatic example. But sometimes a dramatic example makes us stop for a moment and look at something from another perspective.
We all have to admit that technology plays an important role in our lives. We use it to communicate, travel, work, create, learn, and solve problems every day.
So why are we sometimes so quick to judge someone for using AI technology to make music when we embrace technology in so many other areas of life?
A Musician’s Perspective
Again, I’m a musician.
I’ve done concert tours with major artists, recorded in many studios, and worked with both old-school and new-school artists throughout my journey.
Along the way, I’ve met people who have a strong love for music but couldn’t physically perform the music they had going on inside them.
Then AI came along.
And I started seeing something different.
I saw a glow in some of those people. I saw relief. I saw excitement because, for the first time, they had a way to hear some of the music that had been living inside their imagination.
And I was happy for them.
It also caused me to look at myself differently.
I realized that maybe I had taken being a musician for granted. I became more appreciative of the fact that I can sing, play instruments, walk into a studio, and physically perform the ideas that I hear in my head.
Sometimes seeing what another person cannot easily do makes you appreciate musical abilities you may have taken for granted.
That experience is one of the reasons I’ve become more open to people using technology to make music.
Music, Technology & History
And one of the foundations of hip-hop was sampling previously recorded music.
Speaking as a musician, I remember how controversial that was.
Some musicians looked at sampling and said, “You’re using somebody else’s performance.”
To them, it didn’t feel completely different from what people are saying about AI today.
Musicians spent years debating sampling. Some believed it wasn’t real musicianship. Some believed producers were taking shortcuts. Others recognized sampling as a new creative tool and eventually an art form of its own.
The music industry eventually developed licensing systems around sampling, artists began getting compensated, and sampling became an accepted part of modern music production — even though some musicians still don’t personally respect the process.
And now here comes AI.
Suddenly, we’re back at the table having another argument about technology, creativity, musicianship, and what should or should not be considered “real” music.
I’ve learned something over the years: people are entitled to their own opinions.
Different Perspectives
Some musicians believe using AI — or even relying heavily on sampling — is unfair.
They spent years practicing their craft. They learned instruments, trained their voices, studied music, performed live, made mistakes, practiced again, and developed their abilities over time.
From that perspective, watching someone create music without going through that same process can feel like cheating.
Some may even see AI users as lazy.
But AI users can see things completely differently.
They may feel that they have an inner creativity and a love for music that they’ve never been able to fully express.
For them, AI isn’t necessarily about avoiding hard work.
It can be about finally having access to a tool that allows them to turn an idea into something they can hear and share with other people.
Perspective Three
Hybrids have access to both worlds.
They may be able to sing, play instruments, produce music, or perform traditionally — but they also use AI when it fits the project.
A hybrid musician might perform one song completely themselves and use technology to help complete another.
They might use AI to experiment with ideas, speed up part of a production, explore arrangements, or handle some of the heavy lifting when several projects are happening at once.
So yes, I’m sure you can tell by now that I’m in the hybrid category.
And that’s one reason I wanted to share my perspective on AI music.
A lot of my musician friends and peers disagree with me.
And that’s okay.
We’ve had debates like this before.
Hip-hop sampling created arguments between generations of musicians and producers, yet decades later hip-hop is still here and still evolving.
AI music may have its own version of that journey.
Nobody knows exactly where it will lead, but I don’t believe the conversation is going away.
The Question I Hear
My answer is simple.
Because there are music lovers out there who can’t sing and play instruments like I can.
They still love music.
They still imagine music.
They still hear ideas.
They still have something they want to express.
And technology has now given some of them an opportunity to bring that music out of their hearts and into something the rest of us can hear.
I don’t feel threatened by that.
If anything, it has made me appreciate my own abilities even more.
And technology doesn’t automatically erase the human being behind an idea.
There is room for discussion, disagreement, boundaries, ethics, copyright concerns, traditional musicians, AI creators, and people who use a combination of everything.
Where This Conversation Started
This article is a spin-off from an earlier discussion on NoName Musik.
June Topic • NoName Musik The Controversial Subject: Who’s Making the Music? ↗