Everyone here is of course familiar with the rise of Artificial Intelligence and the use of robots. Robots are able to do specific tasks given by developers, and are able to handle deviations in situations and learn from it. But the use of AI in a creative process is rather unexplored. An article from 2017 shows that a Youtube-star, Taryn Southern, launched a track composed by AI. Southern wrote the text and the chords of the song and gave advice about the genre and the rhytm. The algorithm did the rest. This gives artists the time to think of new concepts of songs, which are then further developed by the algorithm. This started the discussion if this kind of music is still art if it is generated by a computer. And also, how relevant will a (pop)producer be in the future?
A newer trend is the use of AI to generate the ultimate playlist. The streaming platform Deezer now uses AI to recognize emotions in music. The robots know when a song is tranquil or rather heavy. The development of this use of AI is not far enough to launch, but we can already look at the future. Will it be necessary to have a DJ on your event when AI is able to respond to the sentiment of the audience and can select the perfectly corresponding songs? With the development of AI creating songs as well as playing songs, the two main areas of a DJ(/Producer) are attacked. However, with DJ’s profiling themselves as brand machines these days, they might have found a way to stay relevant.
To come back at the posed questions: I think that AI will have a big effect on the composition of the music, because people want something new everyday and this seems to be the only way to keep up with the demand. Mainly in pop music, this will be easily accepted. The developments will give artists time to strenthen their brand, to ensure their relevance.
Sources:
https://www.sprout.nl/artikel/startups/nemen-robots-straks-de-rol-van-popproducers
https://www.sprout.nl/artikel/product/robots-kunnen-emotie-herkennen-liedjes-bewijst-dit-onderzoek
