When you reach a career as a composer, it is essential to have hand-in-hand technical and creative skills. In the music industry today, apart from creative talent, musicians and composers are well versed in the technical side of composing. This is doubly true when it comes to professional soundtracking. Those working in the soundtracking domain are often provided with a brief. Typically, the required music needs to fit the right ‘feel’ that the project requires.
With the introduction of AI-based music platforms, those patrons needing fast and financially effective soundtracks that still sound composed have the easy means to generate just that for minimal outlay. In addition, an explosion in processing power has yielded a wide choice in AI regarding digital composing.
For instance, Google’s Magenta is among the most exciting forays into working with AI to make music and art. The open-source research project has spawned numerous plugins. While tools such as this might be firmly assigned to the ‘experimental’ camp, for now, another AI-equipped tech could provide everyday assistance inside the studios.
Growing with AI
Thanks to researchers, musicians, and tech conferences worldwide, AI music’s progress is accelerating rapidly. Some artists have predicted that we will enter a “golden age” of creativity powered by AI that can push music in new directions. Here are some of how AI is utilized to transform the music industry.
- Creating songs: As mentioned before, AI plays a significant role in creating new music. For 30 years, musician and composer David Cope have been working on Experiments in Musical Intelligence (EMI). EMI originally began in 1982 to help Cope overcome the “composer block”. And presently, the algorithm has helped produce music in various styles. Several other composers and music producers use AI to produce music differently.
- Creating virtual pop stars: With the pandemic, the opportunity to enjoy live concerts came to an end. And the fans started to miss going to concerts. During the quarantine period, several authentic artists created virtual artists who could deliver novel music experiences to fill the void. Authentic artists created animated virtual musicians to generate all original compositions to play on screen and also respond to audience feedback by increasing it or decreasing the tempo or intensity.
- Finding next-prominent artists: According to Buzz Angle Music’s 2018 report, audio-on-demand streaming platforms such as Spotify tootled $534 billion in the United States alone. AI aids the music industry with A&R discovery by combining music and trying to find the next breakout star.
- Complementing creativity: AI is composing new music of its own. But our composers do not have to worry about losing their jobs because it still needs the help of humans to sound sweeter. But the time is not near when AI will compose its music.
- Songwriting: Apart from composers and musicians, writers also use AI. Songwriters at times encounter an issue of “writers’ block”. This is not an issue anymore with AI, as it aids in generating new lyrics. Experts view AI as a way to democratize songwriting. Creating music using an AI-powered lyric assistant only takes a few minutes.
Future of industry
AI is undoubtedly a game-changing technology. It is a reliable tool for creating and enhancing music that would otherwise require musical collaborators, technical partners and a substantial budget. The investment in AI will not go in vain as the composers and producers will not run out of business with AI.
On the other hand, they can save valuable resources and efforts on redundant tasks and focus on where human intervention is imperative. AI cannot yet comprehend the structure of a song. Here is where the human element lies. AI should act as an extension of human beings’ creativity in the foreseeable future.
Source: indiaai.gov.in
