Over the years of loving and listening to music, the one thing that has always stood the test of time for me, is the artist and fan connection and I truly believe that artificial intelligence (AI) can never touch or replace this.
What do I mean by the artist and fan connection? Well, this is the very special relationship that develops once you discover your favourite song, by your favourite artist and then you usually become a fan for a very long time.
As I grew up in the 90s, watching Top of the Pops every week, listening to the top 40 every Sunday to find out who would be number one that week, those special priceless moments that developed and shaped my love for music, helped me stay connected with my favourite artists. Social media then arrived in the 2000’s, and enhanced this artist-fan relationship to another level. We were not only able to possibly communicate with our favourite artists now, but also, follow them 24/7 and receive their many updates!
All of this combined, is something that cannot simply be replaced or receive interference by AI. Sure AI might be creating its “own artists” etc, but deep down as humans, we know they are not real! Another example of the artist-fan connection is our Freddie Mercury performing at live aid in front of a massive crowd, and having them at the very palm of his hands, repeating each note he sang. That is the real artist fan connection 🙌
When I go to concerts, I particularly enjoy the banter the artist will have with the audience as this special interaction also further emphasises the artist fan connection. While AI can provide a fancy backdrop or virtual reality, everything will still always come down to the artist fan connection, for fans to continue to show up at concerts.
I do believe that we must actively avoid music that has been created by AI, and focus more on supporting music that has been created by real human musicians. I know that I personally would feel extremely disheartened if I discovered that a song I heard and liked was not created by a real human artist. Let us not forget that creating music is a very special process and something that does not come naturally to everyone and so we must celebrate the ones who do create it. Creating valuable music whatever the genre is no joke and takes a huge amount of effort, talent and dedication so why should we let AI take this away from us?
Jem Girl at the Piano 