Who would listen to AI ‘music?’

Music giant Warner Music Group announced last week that it had reached a “groundbreaking partnership agreement” with Suno, the AI startup at the forefront of AI-generated music it had sued for copyright infringement. After settling that fight, Warner Music signed new licensing models that allow Suno users to continue creating “music.”

Similar agreements have previously been inked with competitor Udio, and it seems highly likely that the other music giants will reach similar agreements. Whether it’s because record companies don’t want to risk making the “Napster mistake” again or they truly believe this is the future, AI services are here to stay.

Suno is undeniably popular. According to the company’s own figures, according to Billboard, users generate music equivalent to Spotify’s entire catalog every fortnight. The service has an admittedly high “wow” factor when tested. The results are impressive, technically speaking. But because it’s music, the question remains: who will listen to this?

I can understand the users, the people finding ways to express themselves creatively, even if it’s via prompts. If you think it’s fun to create AI-generated music, do it. Similarly, playing with Nano Banana for pictures, Sora for videos, or letting Chat GPT write a bedtime story is harmless. But just as no one wants to read an AI-generated book or be drowned in AI-generated images and clips, I don’t think music listeners are as keen on this.

If the services were intended solely for the creators themselves, the problem would be smaller. But unfortunately, the ambitions do not stop there. In its pitch deck to investors, Suno highlights the AI-created band Velvet Sundown, which became a talking point this summer: “Suno songs go viral outside the platform.”

And it’s that dream, to go viral or make a buck, that’s driving rivers of AI music to fill up streaming platforms. Spotify’s French competitor Deezer reports that more than 50,000 AI-generated songs are uploaded to the platform every day. And Spotify itself announced in September that it had removed more than 75 million songs that were considered pure AI garbage.

Sometimes it works. In addition to the aforementioned Velvet Sundown, country artist Breaking Rust recently gained attention when their song “Walk My Walk” topped Billboard’s country download chart and made it onto Spotify’s viral chart. (I hope these are the exceptions that prove the rule.)

A couple of weeks ago, I scrolled into a drama on Tiktok — as one tends to do on that platform — about the unknown artist Haven, whose song “I Run” topped Tiktok’s list of most popular songs. It had been revealed that the song was AI-generated and people were going crazy. Not because the song was bad, but because they felt cheated. Because it felt inauthentic. Because the music suddenly lost a lot of its value.

Authenticity should not be underestimated when it comes to music and other media. It may be that 97% of people can’t tell the difference between AI-generated and human-created music. But the feeling of being deceived is the same, whether it is disinformation in text and video or “good songs” created by AI. Artistic works also tend to be about an emotional connection to the work or to the creator, something I think a clear “AI labeling” of music would effectively kill.

Is there no use for AI-generated music then? Well, perhaps where that connection and authenticity doesn’t matter. A company like Sweden’s Epidemic Sound should be a little concerned. It licenses background music, what used to be called elevator music or muzak, for sound design in areas such as television and advertising. For those uses, AI music could be a cost-effective solution, just as AI-generated content is popular with marketers.

Haven had her song taken down from streaming platforms, and has now had to record a new version with real vocals instead of AI-generated ones. The singer whose voice was imitated, Jorja Smith, has demanded royalties through her record label.

How was the AI song made? With Suno. Maybe something for the next pitch deck.

This column is taken from CS Weekly, a personalized newsletter with reading tips, link tips and analysis sent directly from editor-in-chief Marcus Jerräng’s desk. Would you like to receive the newsletter on Fridays? Sign up for a free subscription here.