New Delhi: In a few years, artificial intelligence could develop enough for us to enjoy new releases by artists that are no longer alive, said Ty Roberts, CEO of Fantracks Music. The age of AI in music now means that artists need to think about their work and their intellectual property in a serious manner.
“Musicians need to think about the afterlife – not just in a spiritual sense but also in a business and legal sense,” said Roberts, speaking at the Synapse India Conclave in Gurugram on 22 February. “Do they want their voice and music to live on after them? How will they keep their music integrity intact after they are gone?”
Roberts was addressing the audience during his talk titled ‘Art & Digital Immortality’, which he began with a video on the different ways in which AI has been used in the music and film industry lately, and ventures that he himself has been a part of.
From the hugely famous ABBA Avatar Voyage concert that launched in London in 2022, to an AI-enhanced In a few years, artificial intelligence could develop enough for us to see albums by artists that are no longer alive, said Roberts.
“It is no longer enough to just sing or play music, because audiences want music with visual effects and production value. Look at Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, or even this conclave – LED screens and displays and videos are a given anywhere,” said Roberts. “What AI does, or will do in the future, is make this kind of visual prowess accessible to anyone, not just famous popstars.”
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You need to have a personality
AI can also change the way the audience engages with their favourite music. The ABBA Voyage concert, for example, was envisioned to let viewers experience the band as they looked and performed at the peak of their career in 1979. Even though the band members are now over 70 years old, motion capture and AI technology generated their avatars from the 70s for the performance.
Shoma Chaudhary, the founder-director of Synapse India, asked Roberts about the prevalence of ‘AI slop’ and AI-generated music and content, and how that could push out real artists who are trying to make their mark in the early stages of their career.
While acknowledging the struggles that artists face now, Roberts argued that the pressure is more to do with the nature of the evolving music industry today.
“You need to be able to stick out as an artist today. Take Chappelle Roan, who is immensely popular in the US now, because she performs well and has great music, great costumes, a great personality,” said Roberts emphatically. “The days of sound-only music are over. You need to have personality and other elements that make you stand out.”
(Edited by Ratan Priya)