I hope you can understand there is nuance in this conversation... this is a PHILOSOPHY how how you think about making music. This is not a "NEVER USE AI" position - this me saying that you should actually consider WHY are you making music? If you wanna dabble and just try it out - what the heck ... sure... but if you actually care about creativity and the creative process - be careful what you choose to use. Wish you a good day.
This comment makes zero sense when paired with the video. There was no nuance, it was an extremely heated and emotion take that 100% drove home the message that you have a "NEVER USE AI" stance. I agree with most of the points made, but goddamn man, this was cringe. if you think that ai is killing music, i got bad new for ya. It died a long, long time ago. It died when what is "popular" started to come down to who has the bigger marketing budget, who can pay to have their music put in front of people. To think that ai will kill music is a slap in the face to anyone who likes to make music for the sake of making.
You can't AI a good guitar player. I'm not talking about recording but performing arts. Imo, it's likely that live musicians will not die off and will probably be the ones carrying the torch so future composers will probably be live musicians with ai recording tools. Pretty much everything in between will die off into virtual land :/
You are a true musician....a composer in the true sense. GOOD for you to speak up on a subject that I think is spiralling far too quickly in to artificial music freefall, where far too many don't know their crotchet's from their quavers! There are many good tools for helping music composition, but for me, music is about the passion and feelings you can only bring in to your music yourself. why buy a lovely car that just drives itself?... may be nice to have help at hand if and when needed, but ultimately a journey is a drive that you want to take and feel for yourself! Loving your genuine passion
Dang, I was not expecting this. I truly felt your passion about this topic, and I really appreciated it. I have been feeling the same way. I am not only a musician, but a photographer and filmmaker, and I have deal with the same frustration every time I see an AI generated photo, or film. I have spent countless hours learning the art of cinematography and music production because I truly love it. And to look around and see people creating these things with a few simple clicks of a button just to get some attention, is not only infuriating, but insulting. Only a few hundred people see the work I spend months at a time on, its not for fame, but for the joy of creation. I to am tired of the lies we are fed, and I wish more people would wake up and see the truth about this issue. Thank you for making this video, I now know I am not alone.
I am convinced that "handmade" music will always touch people more than AI-generated music. A good example is the new Beatles song "Now And Then". Even the four of them play their own instruments. But this song will never touch us as much as the "real" Beatles songs, when they stood side by side and played together. You can feel the emptiness. When music is only generated with AI, this emptiness will be felt even more intensely. Making music is a mutual inspiration between musicians, from which truly great music arises. That's why AI will never be able to replace this greatness.
I am 100% with you on this! I feel like music is the only truth I have in life, and like you, I am scared that this too will be taken away from us! It's like the person, that has no idea of what making music is about, that tells you how your song should be, except now they have full control of your music (sorry for the run-on sentence). I can't offer the 5 course dining meal you can, but I'm far more proud of my mom and pop hamburger of music than what I would be if it was made for me. It cuts on people with natural creativity. It cuts on people who have spent years and years getting better at their craft. It's Idiocracy in music form, and as a person who's appreciated where music was for centuries (and more importantly, how), and where it is now, it's scary that the thought of unlimited creativity is starting to turn into a computer ACTUALLY creating it for you. I know to the average listener, they probably think that's where we've been headed for years, but it's not synthesizers or digital production that's doing that, that's AI... And for a person who likes to create, whether I'm able to live off ot or not (which I haven't), it angers me, as much as it seems it's angering you. There's some things AI is good for, but to these things, and all creative processes that I believe require the human element, this is maddening.
One thing I can say is that everyone recognizes true talent the other day I noticed a crowd building around a street performer. Just a guy and his guitar blowing everyone away. Even small children recognize talent they were mesmerized by his vocals and guitar skills you could see in their little faces. Even in a digital age people are naturally drawn and still appreciate a skilled unplugged talented musician.
I feel you man, so much raw emotion behind your words. I started making music in a daw about 3 years ago and i have struggled and overcome plateaus already. I cant even imagine how it must feel to have worked way longer on music just to have that work erased by people falling for AI generated junk. AI is fun and exciting, but keep it out of the entertainment industry.
i've started playing guitar in 2008. I've been gigging musician, songwriter, and "sound designer" for my band and then decided to try DAW to write my music 100% the way i want it back at 2017. I could only play guitar, and operate with "guitar" effects, so i bought myself a bass, a drum pad and a midi keyboard to learn how to actually play the instruments. For me it was the natural way of doing things and, to be honest, the only way. If i want to write a piano part - i must learn the piano, if i want to use synth, i must learn how to design sounds and how to play a synth. And i wouldn't change a thing about my path. Learning different things is the best part of the process, it keeps brain in shape and overcoming difficulties feels amazingly good. People falling for AI to get "quicker" results are missing the point.
Im only 16 but I spend hours and hours working on music and only the closest friends hear any of it and Im completely cool with that. Life can feel black and white but music adds color. Music isnt a means it is an end of itself, and it's a hecking good end. This is imo the best music channel on youtube bc you give ways and teach lessons to become better at music, not how to fake it. You dont give shortcuts you give actually substance which is what we need if we want to actually be any real good and get any real joy. So thanks for being one of the few channels and internet outlets I know isnt lying to me :D
Been a fan of your channel for a while but I’ve never felt compelled to comment (I generally don’t comment on yt), but I’m with you on this! I hate that I’m made to feel old for thinking this way, but I’m really not interested in using these tools and even less interested in listening to music made that way. There’s enough generic music out there, we don’t need to make it easier to make lol
In my opinion, only very lazy, unmotivated people want to create music without putting the time in. And it sucks that music is really the only artistic pursuit that you can be a pretender. You can't pretend to be an architect, or an actor. All we can do is keep pushing forward with our craft, and attempting to connect with people. I dig your channel Nathan, keep doing what you do.
Let's check reality for a sec. We live in a world of fast paced work i.e. shorts/reels over longer videos, summary vs a long article, etc. AI is only fulling this fire by helping creators create content that is easier to produce and faster to make. If the world supports originality and quality over what is easily accessible, then we can expect art to thrive. It's all dependent on how people respond to this. And I hope they help us musicians by supporting original songs that are built by meaning and emotions rather than algorithms and technicalities.
@@jairajkulkarni better worded than i was going to put it. AI is brand new and our generation is still figuring out how we feel about it. We’re going to argue that it’s lazy, but the next generation, which grows up with it, will call us behind the times for being so averse to it. Ultimately our opinions of AI are going to outdated no matter what, since our foundation of the world is established in a pre-AI world. So yes, it does seem lazy to use AI, but the generation that follows us, who really understand its capabilities better than we ever will, will think otherwise.
Well said, Nathan. I am sure that AI will give us a lot of headaches. I live music. I come from parents who lived music. When I was 6 or 7 years old, I began drumming and later learnt it professionally from a Jazz Rock drummer. Later, at around 20, I met a dude to start an electronic music group. We learnt by doing stuff. Again later, at around 25 or so, I had singing lessons. And I continued with electronic music. All for myself. Due to unemployment I could not replace my broken equipment, and so I paused the creation. But music was always part of my life. Since 2021, I make music again. And I have this and that track where I can say: This had its price in blood, sweat and tears. (You get the point, I think.) I make instrumental EDM. You may think that this can easily be replaced by AI. Maybe. But AI cannot produce a song that I produced. Because there is this song which I name the soundtrack out of my burnout. AI still has no feeling, no "self". Or I have a song which will stay unpublished where I process the death of my mother. AI doesn't know what personal loss is about. On the other hand, you can use AI just for inspiration if you sit in front of your blank DAW project and don't know where to start. But just let it inspire you, don't let it do your job. No matter if you make music as a bedroom producer or if you make music for a living. It's your task to express yourself. No AI in the world knows what's inside yourself. So, AI can be a tool, but it can't be the creator of art. Because art needs feelings and soul. And I'm not sure if this will be possible in the future. But you must let yourself turn inside out. What else could you do?
This was so inspiring! I totally understand, I am only 13! I started making music about 3 years ago, and I hate the thought of using AI to make music. Ever since I saw AI, I never really wanted it because I noticed how many jobs it could steal. I believe that all of us true music creators will be able to keep our jobs. Even though I do not have one yet when I am older I am going to get one.
Nice one. I have constant musical ideas flowing through me daily. No need for AI. I write what I want to hear. Great rant. I hope it gets heard far and wide.
I completely agree. One of the big joys in making music for me is listening to a finished track and knowing that I created it with my own hands. I'm not the best producer by any means but it makes me proud and happy knowing that I created something with my own mind.
I totally agree with you. I`ve started making music about 6 years ago (I was 13 back then) main reasons were fun of creation and urge to tell what I feel through it. I make 1980s style synthpop trance music, because I have a lot of memories connected with these 2 genres. I remember hearing them in middle 2000s on the radio and in dad`s car, when I was little kid. Also I really enjoy the process of creating and learning more techniques to improve my music. Unfortunately some people say "Why are you doing all this work? There`s AI to do this, you`re wasting your time". These people don`t know anything about music (they don`t even know names of genres, except for rock, pop and classical). They don`t treat music as something special, just as some funny sounds and it hurts me. I hope that people change their way of thinking about music and start appreciating it again
The creative process of making music is the ONLY reason why I make music in the first place and completely agree with you. Currently, I don't use any AI-integrated plugins in my music (I do want to get Ozone tho). It's the same reason why I'm interested in photography and videography as well, for the PROCESS. I make Melodic EDM music and as much as a lot of that music sounds the same, you can STILL hear different elements in the music that were put in intentionally by creators. I am 24 and have been making music since age 10. I still learn from your videos to this day. I don't really have a life without music and AI taking that away from me is like taking my precious life away. Keep being that person that inspires us everyday to make the music we love.
Love the passion you put in that. I wanted to be a comic artist to tell stories. Learned anatomy, shading and a lot of stuff but all became weird when AI came along. Lots of none drawers “writers” generate AI drawing for their comics. Even goddamn Marvel used AI in their opening of “Fury”. Music das always been my safe place and after I quit drawing I came back to music, seeing all those AI and MIDI melodies pack ads for music production annoyed me. Creative jobs are just soulless nowadays but I’m happy to see that people like you keep producing with soul and passion, not with just a click of a button. Thanks man.
i have faith that genuine ppl who love music and artists will know the difference between a genuine artist/singer/performer and someone who is shallow and just wants to make quick money. i can compare it to the billboard top 100 and artists who aren’t as popular but have a genuine solid core fan base.
I love the honesty of your video! I really appreciate videos like this. I had a big delusion when I saw that in the beat selling online, the majority of the big channels use loops and pre-made ideas. But I will never give up, I try my best to provide originality and quality, and sometimes I am really proud of my creations. This is the beauty of knowing something deep. Knowing that every time there is something new to learn. Thank you again for your videos!
Thank you Nathan for being so open in your thinking about the way music is being made today. There are many companies that try to sell tools that are music already created by themselves. I like that we live in an era with so much access to learn and improve what we really love to do in life, with technology. But honestly, in the end my intuition is that all of humanity will notice when someone tries to trick others by making music with AI. Because that's how you said it, it's authenticity, it's the years, it's the time spent, developing a taste for sound, a feeling of appreciation of music, a neural plasticity to connect with the audience with the language of music. So if you really think you can fool the world by making music without knowing anything, without understanding the basics of theory, and having spent so much time listening to a bunch of musical styles and genres, there's absolutely no way this guy's music would be successful. long-term. In the past many people did not know how to read or write, there were many illiterate people, and I am sure that there were those who intelligently thought of memorizing a poem to fool others who read so much, but in the end you have to pay for anything in this life, and if you don't you pay the effort to be disciplined, in the end you will get that big bill that you were thinking you could forget without doing anything. Thank you Nathan for respecting and defending the true work of what it is to be part of the art of music. And to influence those who really want to have a big impact on the future of creativity.
I think there will always be a need for real musicians. I also think there will be good case uses for AI music. Some people only want instant gratification from music, and I think that's just as okay as us audiophiles that love to really dive into the deeper meanings within music. I love your videos, and it bums me out seeing you so polarized on this topic. You state that people crave authenticity now more than ever (which I agree). SO, I think there will always be a need for you, me, and all the others out there that love writing music a bit more deeply than the average Joe.
This is the best and most passionate video I've seen on this topic, kudos to you, sir. I'm in an interesting position because I have a tech background prior to spending all my time working on music / music content / plugin development. So a part of me wants to try these AI composition tools, to see what they can do and to make content in regards to them. But on the other hand, for making music that I care about, I'm with you, I'm not using these tools, I'm not dropping in loops, I'll use Scaler to help me audition and work out chord progressions, sure, but that's about it. As you said, it's a different story for AI tools that help further in the process, I'm more than happy to have my amp sims and vocal cleanup tools with AI under the hood. But yes, it would feel like cheating to use the composition tools to bang out inane track after inane track.
Beautifully said. I Recently saw a person who just started their channel a month ago and post just one AI song on their channel and already have a lot more subs and views than me and I've been doing this for 6 years straight, putting in 12 hours a day and got nowhere near the success of the artificial robot song which took no effort, no struggle, no talent, nothing. It was really discouraging to see. Seeing that made me think that people are willing to reward fake robots over real life artists. Everything is getting faker and more shallow these days which will just turn people into mindless consumers in the end.
Well said! Through procedural learning (doing the mental exercise) to develop our mind's skill, we organically grow our mind on the inside. Those who use AI and tech to do things for them, never get that real, organic growth inside their mind, and if they don't exercise their mind, their mind disintegrates away over time. Think about how many people stop using math and foreign languages. Do they stay around in the mind? Nope... They disintegrate away! The levels inside their mind continue to fall over time... Nathan, ... Welcome to the Fall!
Unfortunately as a musician of 40 years you will have to embrace it and ride the wave ! I remember back in the 70/80s when musicians were up in arms about synths !!! I’ve looked at AI and working with it for 5 months there are a lot of pros and cons ! I take the parts to my daw and driven by the inspiration! Use all the tools available ! Make something with my skills and passion ! Tools can speed up the procees ! So you end up at the same place !! My 2c ❤
Epic Rant!! Agree with much of it. My hope is that it turns out to be a gateway into a world of musical enquiry for those who would never have thought they'd be interested, and that the next step would be a more authentic form of SELF expression. Also, at some point I think there will be a huge movement away from everything AI-generated, if for no other reason than to save whatever is left of our humanity.
I really like the point you made here. Your comparison of AI generated art/music to happy meals was particularly apt in how it conveyed that, while AI-generated music may be "okay" to listen to, and may be better than whatever the composer would have made without it, will never manage to advance music, as a whole, forward. In my opinion, though the short term effects of AI-music will be detrimental to people's creativity and purpose, the broader implications are far more worrying. I know for sure I don't want to live in a world where one of my favorite pieces of music was never made because the artist was disheartened by the learning curve, or because they couldn't compete in a landscape with so much auditory fluff. Thank you for this video.
I agree 100% I love the creative vision and making sounds and learning and growing with peoples. Don't let AI take the soul out of music! People need to go back to acoustic instruments. I love writing music!
Tech is fine & I’m not scared of it. That said, the advent of all this stuff has ABSOLUTELY pushed me towards getting a piano & learning to play, I love music that much & I’m that committed to it.
I think about this with dread ALL THE TIME!! Nathan, I’m 41 years old and am working against time to get to a point to where I can live my lifelong dream making music for a living, so it is tempting to make short cuts with AI, BUT I really want to do it the right way! I have so much to say and communicate..maybe I just need a mentor to help me get past so many hurdles to make something that sounds good... Much love my friend. Been watching you for so long and you’ve helped me get past many of those hurdles.
I'm in a similar boat as you, and it feels like this goal is getting further and further away. But then I think of someone like Sibylle Baier, who only became famous after she died. Her music is some of the most beautiful and haunting I've ever heard. I can bring myself to cry just thinking about it. It's sad to think she may have had the same dreams we did and put them aside to live a more ordinary life or because she felt her dream could never happen. But we get to listen to her anyway, and that's a real gift. So maybe you and I won't get to know the impact our music makes in our lifetime, but the people who hear it after we're gone will be glad we didn't cut corners and spoke from the heart.
Dude, all of the actual artists and musicians out here feel the exact same way. Non-artistic opportunists and little clout gremlins without a creative bone in their body will seize on AI tech to make some money and be obnoxious as always, and popular "music" will continue to be bland, homogenous, algorthmic soup. And as it does, real original music and real Art, with real ineffable, intangible, heart and soul invested in it, will still stand in stark relief to the plastic happy meal BS. Keep making real music man and keep the faith, people who think, feel and love music on a deep level will always be able to tell the difference. Your work is more important than ever now. I say we take off an nuke the site from orbit.
Ai art and music isn’t art or music! STOP USING AI. It’s lazy and stupid. I’ve been saying this ever since AI music became a thing. Thank you for saying this! Great video! I completely agree with what you said. Loops also suck. Never used loops and never will. It’s a personal choice. AI music and loops ARE NOT creative. Get a clue.
Great stuff, Nathan. Completely agree. A note on this - “Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding” Proverbs 23:23. If our lives are rooted in the truth (Christ), we cannot accept falsehood (includes deceit). Keep aiming for integrity!
I instantaneously wrote a song while watching this video in my kitchen, here’s some of the lyrics (was literally singing this to myself, it was a dark scene, very depressing): 🎵Creatives gonna like doing creative things 🎶And business people gonna like doin the business things, 🎶makin that money anyhow anyway and they’ll be happy 🎵This is a sad song✨ 🎤Don’t make your songs so bad, like this, cause then your losing the war against, the ai overlords they can be mean 🎵Consumers just wanna have good stuff to keep consumin 🎶Would your music be better if it was made by the brain of a machine? 🎼Oh! -now before you comment that i didn’t rhyme enough, try singing it.. it’s kinda catchy
(Should note immediately that I’m a fan and a subscriber, i don’t mean for these song lyrics to give off any more negativity than they have to - keep up the good work!)
Honestly I use it as a inspirational tool to generate ideas but I don't have access to daws. I also use it because I can't sing well at the time and wanna get ideas by hearing other vocals singing my own hand written lyrics. What I've found it indeed AI will get close to some emotional chords or harmonies but just doesn't fully hit it solid. Just throw away ideas of fun and inspiration in my opinion no more. My respect to you dedicated and amazing artists who put in so much time and effort. 💕🙏🏻
Thank you for this, Nathan! You are voicing all of the concerns I’ve had about songwriters and musicians getting into AI. There is no way that technology can replace digging deep to create something totally unique. We were created to be creative and express ourselves through the gifts God has given us.
I remember when you took a lot of time to answer one of my questions on this channel and it just showed me how passionate you are about the music and teaching us a lot. And above all you are a sincere and good person so thumbs up for this video and keep on doing your thing
Some like instant potatoes...But there's just something about peeling the potatoes, boiling them, adding milk, butter, pull the mixer out, fluff dem bad boys up & slap them on the plate. The whole process is worth it, taste wise. Microwave "just add water" potatoes just don't hit my taste buds the same way...in my opinion. "He who hath an ear, hear."😉 (In agreement with your statement/video. Rather be creative & build from scratch.)
Those of us making great music should not be in fear. This is why pushing the limits of creativity and building a brand that has a connection to a REAL audience is so important. Looks like you are on the right track - I didnt talk at all about the fear of AI "taking things over" in this video because I'm personally not afraid of that. Make yourself irreplaceable.
100% with you, music is so much more than just its sound. The authenticity of emotion and creativity is something that is in comparable to to coherency of AI. I can see how it can be easy for many to cave in on usage of AI, but i hope people for the future generation stick to their own creative processes
I hear you bro, and I'm with you. As you've said, AI is only a tool. It seems scary, and it will keep going, but at the end of the day it's merely something that talented people can all use to magnify their creativity. We are not at the stage where some loser teen can take over our jobs. It still needs the vision. We can all tell the difference between authentic and AI generated art. It will always takes a human touch, and we will always be able to tell the difference.
Nathan, first off, love your channel and the work you put into your videos! Second, I think all artists are going through this mental struggle right now. I make my living as a commercial advertising photographer and digital artists specializing in high end product and architectural imagery. I've been an artist my entire life and have a passion for the creative process. I have thousands of dollars invested in cameras, lenses and lighting equipment. I've spent years working on my craft. And like many artists, I've sacrificed a lot to be able to make a living in a creative field. Now anyone and everyone can use AI tools like Midjourney and create photo realistic AI imagery with no experience making images professionally. It can be done in a fraction of the time and without any real knowledge or understanding of lighting or how cameras work. To my knowledge, at this point in time, I'm not loosing jobs to amateur image makers who are inexperienced in the field of commercial photography and using generative AI to create photographic images. All artists are wondering what their future holds as creative professionals. Will people still want authenticity in the work we create? Will people actually care if what they're seeing or hearing was created by another human being? Man....in this era of data and automation, I don't know sometimes. But I believe that whether they realize it or not, people need "the arts" in their lives. A world without unique original music, art, movies, books etc would be a terrible world to live in. One thing we have going for us at the moment (unless this changes in the future) is that under current Copyright law, AI generated anything is not protectable. If it's not protectable under copyright law, then it's not commercially viable for creators and companies that want to protect their intellectual property. Also, this years writers strike afforded writers certain protections against AI. To what extent, I'm not entirely sure. My best guess is that working professionals in other creative industries might follow suit as these technologies develop. But we'll just have to wait and see. All that to say, as a fellow artist, I share your frustration and hope for the best possible outcome for anyone looking to have a career in the arts, doing what they love most. Cheers man 🍻
Yeah, so in the world that I'm pursuing more (sync licensing - music in television) AI is not gonna be used anytime soon because all the legal issues - you can't copyright AI music, and one thing that matters A LOT in the world of music in television is that legal issues are no joke... if you use a sample in a song that is licensed - you HAVE to disclose it and it could actually jeopordize whether the song will be used at all because the music supervisor/studio now needs to get permission from the original owner and secure two licenses. it's very complicated. So in that sense - I'm not worried. I'd leave it with this... it will be more important than ever that artists build a brand identity around what they do. Your photos are more than just the photos but the person behind the camera, too - and people buy into brand. It's ALWAYS been this way with music... artists who are the most successful don't make all the money from music but from their brand that they can sell and build a business around. So think big and build a brand identity - that is the way moving forward.
@@NathanJamesLarsen Oh yeah man, it's all about licensing and usage, no matter what type of art you're creating. Commercial photography is the same exact way. I regularly register my work with the US Copyright Office. That includes my photography, CGI imagery and music that I've written. I always retain copyright ownership of my work and license the usage. That's how you make a living as an artist. I'd imagine you do the same thing with your work. One other thing that still hasn't been determined yet in court: Whether or not it's considered "Fair Use" or "Copyright Infringement" that these generative AI platforms are using the copyrighted work of artists in order to create their data sets. The tech companies claim fair use and the artists who've had no choice in the matter say copyright infringement. I haven' heard a verdict on that just yet. I completely agree you. Diversifying your revenue stream is just part of being a creative these days and branding plays an important role no matter what type of art you're creating. I'm not sure if you're a Metallica fan or not, but they ran their entire 72 Seasons launch like a traditional ad campaign. That album itself has a brand within itself.
So well said. Wasn’t harsh, just truthful. Thanks man! Not sure how music is gonna survive this next era. It’s sad. We might have some re-inventing to do. God bless you my man!
I miss the time when everything was simple and everything sounded great . You guys notice how shitty music is nowadays and how bad it sound in every sound system .
I picked up music last year mostly because even if I create mediocre midi melody it gives me instant satisfaction which helps me unplug from work but still create something. Even if AI could create exactly what I have in my head I wouldn't try it - I want to have the process of randomly picking something great on guitar or laying piano the right way have a struggle to evolve it and embellish it until I hate it so much I throw it away...that is fun and satisfying.
I got a McDonalds ad halfway through this video, lol. Right now, it can be confusing what A.I. in music is. There are ways to generate a tune via a prompt, but there are also tools that can help songwriters/producers to express themselves better than before. I'm looking into Audimee, where you can replace your own vocals by a professional session singer, this is basically replacing your timbre and the result depends on the quality of your own performance. It's A.I. to an extent, but the song, lyrics and vocal performance are not A.I. generated, but simply enhanced via A.I. We need more distinct labels as to how A.I. was used. For me, Audimee is like a vocal virtual instrument, it's about how the vocal sounds. A polished upgrade from my own (not so stellar) singing voice. The performance, melody, timing, pitch etc. is still made by a human creator in this example. So, A.I can also be a great tool to open new doors for your own creativity. It's about your intention. I agree, music is about personal emotional expression, the human experience... connecting people. In the end, creators are going to create and I hope people will recognize the good stuff from the fake, shallow stuff.
It sounds like music is facing the same challenge and conversation that digital art faced a year ago (and is still ongoing). My stand for art might be the same for music: do the art yourself and only use AI for ideas and reference, and maybe use it more only for the commercial stuff where people are struggling with deadlines anyway. For personal work, I don’t see the point so much because it’s not only about the end result but also about the journey there.
Thanks for this video and this point of view, finally someone that is trying to do something meaningful to inspire! People of our generation or at least more towards 70s 80s 90s I feel have the responsibility to inspire younger generations as we saw before and after and we have a term of comparison. I’m so happy to hear someone gets it, like music is much more than a formula or a marketing strategy, music is life! Thanks much support to you, let’s keep going!
Well said. The music industry is becoming so saturated with fake music. The whole thing is RIGGED! To be completely honest with you, and I'm sure you already know this, but even most if not all of the top artists aren't authentic. And it's not because they're using AI, which I'm sure some are, but it's because they're just slaves to their record labels. The big-name Record Labels are literally paying you to sing about stuff that will bring in the money. If not, then you lose the record label deal. I mean, isn't it evident? I've heard the same old heart break song over and over again, just with a slightly different catchy beat haha. This is why I've decided that if I want to get into the music making business, then it would mostly be just as a hobby, which is fine. I realistically can't make REAL music and expect to keep up with all the others that use pre-recorded loops and AI to make their 'hit songs' in just a few hours... and I say "hours" literally. Plus, their music is barely music. It's got a catchy beat but that's most of what music is nowadays. It's about the melody, the harmony... the story; music should encourage you and bring you peace of soul and hope, not make you feel like you're on your own and nobody cares about you, or how it sparks your lower passions. Sadly, since people don't recognize God, that's how most people want to feel, so that's what the Record Labels want 'artists' to sing about, because it's how most people can relate to it, which equals more streams which means more money. Sad.
100% Percent in agreement! However I do use one tool that is AI based. It's an AI vocalist. I still have to create the notes (melody) type the lyrics. Finesse it to sound authentic and dynamic. It's still my work going into it. More libraries are requiring music with vocals and this has been an affordable means for me. We are in a changing market where stock music libraries are turning more to AI generated tracks for their clients. I don't care for it. The cut corners mentality in this market so they don't have to wait, pay, or hire is just a waste!
I heavily doubt AI will ever replace real musicians in any significant capacity... It will for sure give the tools and resources to those who are not necessarily seasoned musicians to illustrate the things they have in their minds and experiment with unorthodox things, and that can be influential. However, it will never EVER be close to mirroring the organic nature of human creativity. It won't be able to randomly create nuances and happy accidents that suddenly become the next musical trend everybody will be into. Absolute worst case scenario where AI gets a mediocre hold of it, things like having bands and live music will become a super exclusive line of business that people will have much more motive to pay for. I am personally seeing an inclination to step away from digital shenanigans when it comes to music. Big artists selling long plays again, studios getting physical gear again because there's way too many plugins and things are sounding too alike between producers and artists... You name it. For the same reason I see people staying away from digital distribution services because the moment they lose rights over X piece of entertainment, those become unavailable until further notice. Owning physical stuff is getting cool again, slowly but surely. Tech companies overstepped their bounds and people's not as happy as the media/marketing tells us.
I think it depends if your goal is going from A to B or if you enjoy the trip regardless to the destination. It feels like biking up a mountain sweating like a donkey and seeing an happy fat guy that passes you on an e-bike while is taking a selfie. That being said I share your romantic and philosophical view. I am a drummer I sometimes I feel like selling ice to people with a fridge. Bless you!
I've been writing and recording for over 40 years. In all that time I've made $75.00 for a track I created for a play, and they ended up not even using it, so I'm not into it for the money. On the other hand I've spent thousands of dollars on DAW's, software, hardware, VST's, all because I enjoy the process. So, it's a hobby. I play my stuff for friends and they shrug and move on. Not much interest. I also have a backlog of 100s of lyrics that I've never gotten around to recording. I work a day job so it leaves very little time for the fun stuff. I agree...if you make a living from making music then AI is bad or at it's best, helpful. I now use AI to make music mainly for my own amusement. I would never sell it or pass it off as anything but AI generated music. I feel for all those affected but it's not going away.
If you'd make music without making any money on it, what's the problem? There will always be room for artists to do art. You can qualify another method as "not art" but more people buy happy meals than Michelin star meals, doesn't mean there isn't value for either.
The point I'm making is that it is not a money problem in the first place... it's a creative problem. People really gotta start thinking of art first and money later. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
@@NathanJamesLarsen I think if your goal is to be a musician or a composer what you're saying makes tons of sense. But the composer doesn't have to learn to play each instrument. Similarly if your art incorporates, rather than is, music, there's plenty of reasons to be excited about advancements in generative AI. I would have been thrilled when I was in film school, for instance.
Nathan you are the type of musician I would like to do work with ! Thanks for talking the Truth about The ( I ) in (A.I) Music, Creation 😊 Philosophy intelligence
Agree 100% but honestly Music Industry has been doing this for years and years. Cost first, THEN music. Since like 1980 with drum machines (shiting on drummers that studied for years). Then autotune (shiting on singers that studied for years). And son on with whatever technology available at the time. Performance is vital part of music. To me: no performance-no music. A washing machine can make noise patterns when working, that doesnt make it a percussionist.
Artists should certainly remind themselves of their intrinsic motivators; you've expressed yourself well; it is important to affirm the things that drive you, but it is important to separate these from your business goals. Consumers don't often care how anything is created. Autotune didn't go away - it became ubiquitous. Do we really imagine AI adoption will be different? Artists as business owners are especially prone to dopamine-driven risk i.e., the pursuit of purity over the risk of poverty. My recommendation is to embrace any and all tools/skills to make you competitive - which of course includes seeking depth in music/production theory. Try to remember that a customer's payment is a reward for your ability to *align* with what they want - not necessarily what *you* want. E.g., McDonalds adding healthier food options is a wonderful case study in understanding/measuring changing customer preferences and finding increased profitability as a result. Sorry if my advice sounds overly clinical, but I've seen too many starving artists angrily shake their fists at the heavens wondering what they've done wrong. Love your videos Nathan :)
while I am the one who used the Mcdonalds reference - music is not comparable to the business of mcdonalds or any other business model. What the consumer wants is obviously important - but if we are simply making music that consumers want - then there will actually be no push to be more creative. Just look at the trends in music - it's like a pendulum. Things become overly simplified - and then there's a push to become complex (Jacob Collier) and the appetite is ever changing - this is why we actually need artists who are pushing boundaries - and AI can only use the data it's been given. So if you wanna make cookie cutter - then that's fine... but I would argue consumers don't know what they want in music until it is upon them. You can't compare completely different business models like art to restaurants. Beyond that - the whole point of my video was not the business of music but the creativity of music and 99.9% of people making music are never going to make it a business.
@@NathanJamesLarsen Thank you for your reply. I was being sincere in that I've loved many of your videos (and your music), including this video. I hope everyone strives to be as passionate and professional as you are. Even if we might disagree on certain minutia, I'll continue to support your channel! I primarily work in the software industry and I'm a hobbyist musician. With that said, I might offer a quick technical clarification. AI is a blanket term - the critique often heard about AI being 'only as good as the data its trained on' or being a 'glorified autocomplete' is usually referring to recent Large Language Model (LLM) approaches. OpenAI (the company behind ChatGPT) became famous for reinforcement learning (RL) techniques before their recent LLM success. RL can generate super human results without looking at *any* existing training data. There are even approaches that can even generate novel training data and have it judged by *other AI.* I realize you may have been speaking colloquially, but for folks reading, it is important to realize that AI's perceived 'creativity' is not necessarily restricted to human ingenuity - it can (and has) surpassed it in certain areas. This trend will not stop as huge sums of investment money are being piled on by investors/governments around the world. This is a long winded way of saying...AI is the dumbest it will ever be today - it'll only get smarter from here. Meanwhile, things like MIDI packs, AI-based production, etc can help you get closer to what consumers are paying for much faster. There are folks that are going to be using AI to aggressively out-earn everyone else (even if quality suffers) across all sectors of our economy. Also, you identified some great points - i.e., songs marketed well have heightened perceived 'value' (as measured by views/listens/clicks/purchases). Marketing is yet another domain I highly recommend artists look to AI for assistance. With all of that said, I hope producers hone their musical craft like you are saying. There is no stopping the AI train however, so might as well hop on board - you may even like where it takes you.
I agree Nathan. The sad thing is that eventually AI will do it “better” if it doesn’t already. But even if AI can mix better than I can, or create “better” sounding music than me, I will always prefer to listen to music that was created by humans, mixed by humans because as you rightly pointed out, it’s a snapshot of the human experience. So give me all the flubs and happy accidents! Give me the humanity and fingerprints. I prefer it over the flawless and pristine. But to each their own I guess?
It's so upsetting to know that THIS is what people are doing to "make music". It's insulting to real songwriters who work so hard on their songs. AI music is not music, it's just a hollow imitation. I sincerely hope that society won't cave to this, and will still seek authentic, meaningful music created BY A TALENTED HUMAN BEING. As a Gen Z, it frightens me to look at my own generation and what they consider "cool". Wake up, this isn't art. Use your head a little and realize what this is going to do to music. Or even what it's going to do to entertainment and art as a whole! I think we should all be against this, but we aren't. Of course there's tons of people who are, but there are so many who are just okay with this. Who support it, even. But at the same time, maybe this will be good for authentic songwriters, and here's why. I can't just believe that everyone's going to go for the AI music thing, and with the rise of AI surely there will be people who are out searching for real music. When they find artists who aren't using any AI, but are instead relying on talent and passion, they're gonna love it, right? Maybe that artist could really connect with an audience of people who are fed up with AI? I don't know, maybe. If AI music must keep rising, I hope that's how this goes, and I hope it happens quick. It'd suck if we had like a 20 year span where AI music is the norm and real music is just kinda pushed away...
Don't worry Nathan, your music is to good for AI to replicate. All the subtle nuances in your arrangements and so...... You're music is life, Ai music sounds dead. We love your music because i hear Nathan.
My concern isn't being replaced - I'm not even in the slightest concerned about that ... my concern is entirely around the meaning of why we make music and how if we go down this path and take it to its furtherest conclusion then people will essentially lose the heart and soul of what is so beautiful in making music. My prediction is that in 5-10 years there'll be a huge pendulum swing toward people building brands around making music that is specifically NOT using AI. And it will be marketed that way. I can absolutely see that happening. And those of us who put in the time will greatly benefit from it. In this middle of all of this is incredible opportunity for those who see it. I am saddened by it - but truth be told - it creates A LOT of opportunity for me personally.
AI will rob us of our souls. No matter who you are, if you care about art or self expression you should be aware of this. What do we have to offer as human beings, if we're outdone by something that has no emotions whatsoever? Who wants to start making music if they know AI produces faster and better? This is absolutely frightening. I hope it will never get that far.
I hope you can understand there is nuance in this conversation... this is a PHILOSOPHY how how you think about making music. This is not a "NEVER USE AI" position - this me saying that you should actually consider WHY are you making music?
If you wanna dabble and just try it out - what the heck ... sure... but if you actually care about creativity and the creative process - be careful what you choose to use.
Wish you a good day.
This comment makes zero sense when paired with the video. There was no nuance, it was an extremely heated and emotion take that 100% drove home the message that you have a "NEVER USE AI" stance. I agree with most of the points made, but goddamn man, this was cringe.
if you think that ai is killing music, i got bad new for ya. It died a long, long time ago. It died when what is "popular" started to come down to who has the bigger marketing budget, who can pay to have their music put in front of people. To think that ai will kill music is a slap in the face to anyone who likes to make music for the sake of making.
hes mad no one will need tutorials for logic pro any more. thats the real reason. everything else he says is just emotion. @@RageRaccoon
You can't AI a good guitar player.
I'm not talking about recording but performing arts.
Imo, it's likely that live musicians will not die off and will probably be the ones carrying the torch so future composers will probably be live musicians with ai recording tools.
Pretty much everything in between will die off into virtual land :/
You are a true musician....a composer in the true sense. GOOD for you to speak up on a subject that I think is spiralling far too quickly in to artificial music freefall, where far too many don't know their crotchet's from their quavers!
There are many good tools for helping music composition, but for me, music is about the passion and feelings you can only bring in to your music yourself.
why buy a lovely car that just drives itself?... may be nice to have help at hand if and when needed, but ultimately a journey is a drive that you want to take and feel for yourself!
Loving your genuine passion
Totally agree. AI as a tool, fine; AI as the creator, WTF...
Dang, I was not expecting this. I truly felt your passion about this topic, and I really appreciated it. I have been feeling the same way. I am not only a musician, but a photographer and filmmaker, and I have deal with the same frustration every time I see an AI generated photo, or film. I have spent countless hours learning the art of cinematography and music production because I truly love it. And to look around and see people creating these things with a few simple clicks of a button just to get some attention, is not only infuriating, but insulting. Only a few hundred people see the work I spend months at a time on, its not for fame, but for the joy of creation. I to am tired of the lies we are fed, and I wish more people would wake up and see the truth about this issue. Thank you for making this video, I now know I am not alone.
I am convinced that "handmade" music will always touch people more than AI-generated music. A good example is the new Beatles song "Now And Then". Even the four of them play their own instruments. But this song will never touch us as much as the "real" Beatles songs, when they stood side by side and played together. You can feel the emptiness. When music is only generated with AI, this emptiness will be felt even more intensely. Making music is a mutual inspiration between musicians, from which truly great music arises. That's why AI will never be able to replace this greatness.
100% agreed and AI kills all our creativity.
I am 100% with you on this! I feel like music is the only truth I have in life, and like you, I am scared that this too will be taken away from us! It's like the person, that has no idea of what making music is about, that tells you how your song should be, except now they have full control of your music (sorry for the run-on sentence).
I can't offer the 5 course dining meal you can, but I'm far more proud of my mom and pop hamburger of music than what I would be if it was made for me. It cuts on people with natural creativity. It cuts on people who have spent years and years getting better at their craft. It's Idiocracy in music form, and as a person who's appreciated where music was for centuries (and more importantly, how), and where it is now, it's scary that the thought of unlimited creativity is starting to turn into a computer ACTUALLY creating it for you.
I know to the average listener, they probably think that's where we've been headed for years, but it's not synthesizers or digital production that's doing that, that's AI... And for a person who likes to create, whether I'm able to live off ot or not (which I haven't), it angers me, as much as it seems it's angering you.
There's some things AI is good for, but to these things, and all creative processes that I believe require the human element, this is maddening.
Very rarely comment on YT videos, but I agree with you 100% - thank you for the passionate rant!
One thing I can say is that everyone recognizes true talent the other day I noticed a crowd building around a street performer. Just a guy and his guitar blowing everyone away. Even small children recognize talent they were mesmerized by his vocals and guitar skills you could see in their little faces. Even in a digital age people are naturally drawn and still appreciate a skilled unplugged talented musician.
Thanks for saying this, Nathan! Such great points and glad you're bringing attention to this!
I feel you man, so much raw emotion behind your words. I started making music in a daw about 3 years ago and i have struggled and overcome plateaus already. I cant even imagine how it must feel to have worked way longer on music just to have that work erased by people falling for AI generated junk. AI is fun and exciting, but keep it out of the entertainment industry.
i've started playing guitar in 2008. I've been gigging musician, songwriter, and "sound designer" for my band and then decided to try DAW to write my music 100% the way i want it back at 2017. I could only play guitar, and operate with "guitar" effects, so i bought myself a bass, a drum pad and a midi keyboard to learn how to actually play the instruments. For me it was the natural way of doing things and, to be honest, the only way. If i want to write a piano part - i must learn the piano, if i want to use synth, i must learn how to design sounds and how to play a synth. And i wouldn't change a thing about my path. Learning different things is the best part of the process, it keeps brain in shape and overcoming difficulties feels amazingly good. People falling for AI to get "quicker" results are missing the point.
No matter how advanced AI becomes, it can never fully capture the essence of music, which is deeply rooted in human emotions that AI inherently lacks.
Im only 16 but I spend hours and hours working on music and only the closest friends hear any of it and Im completely cool with that. Life can feel black and white but music adds color. Music isnt a means it is an end of itself, and it's a hecking good end.
This is imo the best music channel on youtube bc you give ways and teach lessons to become better at music, not how to fake it. You dont give shortcuts you give actually substance which is what we need if we want to actually be any real good and get any real joy.
So thanks for being one of the few channels and internet outlets I know isnt lying to me :D
So true
Amen to this. 100% aligned with you on this one.
Been a fan of your channel for a while but I’ve never felt compelled to comment (I generally don’t comment on yt), but I’m with you on this! I hate that I’m made to feel old for thinking this way, but I’m really not interested in using these tools and even less interested in listening to music made that way. There’s enough generic music out there, we don’t need to make it easier to make lol
In my opinion, only very lazy, unmotivated people want to create music without putting the time in. And it sucks that music is really the only artistic pursuit that you can be a pretender. You can't pretend to be an architect, or an actor. All we can do is keep pushing forward with our craft, and attempting to connect with people. I dig your channel Nathan, keep doing what you do.
I absolutely agree.
Let's check reality for a sec. We live in a world of fast paced work i.e. shorts/reels over longer videos, summary vs a long article, etc. AI is only fulling this fire by helping creators create content that is easier to produce and faster to make. If the world supports originality and quality over what is easily accessible, then we can expect art to thrive. It's all dependent on how people respond to this. And I hope they help us musicians by supporting original songs that are built by meaning and emotions rather than algorithms and technicalities.
@@jairajkulkarni better worded than i was going to put it. AI is brand new and our generation is still figuring out how we feel about it. We’re going to argue that it’s lazy, but the next generation, which grows up with it, will call us behind the times for being so averse to it. Ultimately our opinions of AI are going to outdated no matter what, since our foundation of the world is established in a pre-AI world. So yes, it does seem lazy to use AI, but the generation that follows us, who really understand its capabilities better than we ever will, will think otherwise.
That’s why musicians are not respected anymore and clubs still pay the same as 20 years ago!
Well said, Nathan. I am sure that AI will give us a lot of headaches. I live music. I come from parents who lived music. When I was 6 or 7 years old, I began drumming and later learnt it professionally from a Jazz Rock drummer. Later, at around 20, I met a dude to start an electronic music group. We learnt by doing stuff. Again later, at around 25 or so, I had singing lessons. And I continued with electronic music. All for myself. Due to unemployment I could not replace my broken equipment, and so I paused the creation. But music was always part of my life. Since 2021, I make music again. And I have this and that track where I can say: This had its price in blood, sweat and tears. (You get the point, I think.)
I make instrumental EDM. You may think that this can easily be replaced by AI. Maybe. But AI cannot produce a song that I produced. Because there is this song which I name the soundtrack out of my burnout. AI still has no feeling, no "self". Or I have a song which will stay unpublished where I process the death of my mother. AI doesn't know what personal loss is about.
On the other hand, you can use AI just for inspiration if you sit in front of your blank DAW project and don't know where to start. But just let it inspire you, don't let it do your job. No matter if you make music as a bedroom producer or if you make music for a living. It's your task to express yourself. No AI in the world knows what's inside yourself. So, AI can be a tool, but it can't be the creator of art. Because art needs feelings and soul. And I'm not sure if this will be possible in the future. But you must let yourself turn inside out. What else could you do?
This was so inspiring! I totally understand, I am only 13! I started making music about 3 years ago, and I hate the thought of using AI to make music. Ever since I saw AI, I never really wanted it because I noticed how many jobs it could steal. I believe that all of us true music creators will be able to keep our jobs. Even though I do not have one yet when I am older I am going to get one.
Nice one. I have constant musical ideas flowing through me daily. No need for AI. I write what I want to hear. Great rant. I hope it gets heard far and wide.
I completely agree. One of the big joys in making music for me is listening to a finished track and knowing that I created it with my own hands.
I'm not the best producer by any means but it makes me proud and happy knowing that I created something with my own mind.
I totally agree with you. I`ve started making music about 6 years ago (I was 13 back then) main reasons were fun of creation and urge to tell what I feel through it. I make 1980s style synthpop trance music, because I have a lot of memories connected with these 2 genres. I remember hearing them in middle 2000s on the radio and in dad`s car, when I was little kid. Also I really enjoy the process of creating and learning more techniques to improve my music. Unfortunately some people say "Why are you doing all this work? There`s AI to do this, you`re wasting your time". These people don`t know anything about music (they don`t even know names of genres, except for rock, pop and classical). They don`t treat music as something special, just as some funny sounds and it hurts me. I hope that people change their way of thinking about music and start appreciating it again
The creative process of making music is the ONLY reason why I make music in the first place and completely agree with you. Currently, I don't use any AI-integrated plugins in my music (I do want to get Ozone tho). It's the same reason why I'm interested in photography and videography as well, for the PROCESS. I make Melodic EDM music and as much as a lot of that music sounds the same, you can STILL hear different elements in the music that were put in intentionally by creators.
I am 24 and have been making music since age 10. I still learn from your videos to this day. I don't really have a life without music and AI taking that away from me is like taking my precious life away.
Keep being that person that inspires us everyday to make the music we love.
Love the passion you put in that. I wanted to be a comic artist to tell stories. Learned anatomy, shading and a lot of stuff but all became weird when AI came along. Lots of none drawers “writers” generate AI drawing for their comics. Even goddamn Marvel used AI in their opening of “Fury”.
Music das always been my safe place and after I quit drawing I came back to music, seeing all those AI and MIDI melodies pack ads for music production annoyed me.
Creative jobs are just soulless nowadays but I’m happy to see that people like you keep producing with soul and passion, not with just a click of a button.
Thanks man.
i have faith that genuine ppl who love music and artists will know the difference between a genuine artist/singer/performer and someone who is shallow and just wants to make quick money. i can compare it to the billboard top 100 and artists who aren’t as popular but have a genuine solid core fan base.
I love the honesty of your video! I really appreciate videos like this. I had a big delusion when I saw that in the beat selling online, the majority of the big channels use loops and pre-made ideas. But I will never give up, I try my best to provide originality and quality, and sometimes I am really proud of my creations. This is the beauty of knowing something deep. Knowing that every time there is something new to learn. Thank you again for your videos!
AI is a tool. Hope people will not be slaved by the tool.. Agree with you 100 percent.
Thank you Nathan for being so open in your thinking about the way music is being made today. There are many companies that try to sell tools that are music already created by themselves.
I like that we live in an era with so much access to learn and improve what we really love to do in life, with technology.
But honestly, in the end my intuition is that all of humanity will notice when someone tries to trick others by making music with AI. Because that's how you said it, it's authenticity, it's the years, it's the time spent, developing a taste for sound, a feeling of appreciation of music, a neural plasticity to connect with the audience with the language of music.
So if you really think you can fool the world by making music without knowing anything, without understanding the basics of theory, and having spent so much time listening to a bunch of musical styles and genres, there's absolutely no way this guy's music would be successful. long-term.
In the past many people did not know how to read or write, there were many illiterate people, and I am sure that there were those who intelligently thought of memorizing a poem to fool others who read so much, but in the end you have to pay for anything in this life, and if you don't you pay the effort to be disciplined, in the end you will get that big bill that you were thinking you could forget without doing anything.
Thank you Nathan for respecting and defending the true work of what it is to be part of the art of music. And to influence those who really want to have a big impact on the future of creativity.
I think there will always be a need for real musicians. I also think there will be good case uses for AI music. Some people only want instant gratification from music, and I think that's just as okay as us audiophiles that love to really dive into the deeper meanings within music. I love your videos, and it bums me out seeing you so polarized on this topic. You state that people crave authenticity now more than ever (which I agree). SO, I think there will always be a need for you, me, and all the others out there that love writing music a bit more deeply than the average Joe.
This is the best and most passionate video I've seen on this topic, kudos to you, sir.
I'm in an interesting position because I have a tech background prior to spending all my time working on music / music content / plugin development. So a part of me wants to try these AI composition tools, to see what they can do and to make content in regards to them. But on the other hand, for making music that I care about, I'm with you, I'm not using these tools, I'm not dropping in loops, I'll use Scaler to help me audition and work out chord progressions, sure, but that's about it.
As you said, it's a different story for AI tools that help further in the process, I'm more than happy to have my amp sims and vocal cleanup tools with AI under the hood. But yes, it would feel like cheating to use the composition tools to bang out inane track after inane track.
🎉The journey is the goal 🎉
Love your channel, thanks for all the advice ❤👍
Beautifully said.
I Recently saw a person who just started their channel a month ago and post just one AI song on their channel and already have a lot more subs and views than me and I've been doing this for 6 years straight, putting in 12 hours a day and got nowhere near the success of the artificial robot song which took no effort, no struggle, no talent, nothing. It was really discouraging to see. Seeing that made me think that people are willing to reward fake robots over real life artists. Everything is getting faker and more shallow these days which will just turn people into mindless consumers in the end.
Well said! Through procedural learning (doing the mental exercise) to develop our mind's skill, we organically grow our mind on the inside. Those who use AI and tech to do things for them, never get that real, organic growth inside their mind, and if they don't exercise their mind, their mind disintegrates away over time. Think about how many people stop using math and foreign languages. Do they stay around in the mind? Nope... They disintegrate away! The levels inside their mind continue to fall over time... Nathan, ... Welcome to the Fall!
Unfortunately as a musician of 40 years you will have to embrace it and ride the wave ! I remember back in the 70/80s when musicians were up in arms about synths !!! I’ve looked at AI and working with it for 5 months there are a lot of pros and cons !
I take the parts to my daw and driven by the inspiration! Use all the tools available ! Make something with my skills and passion !
Tools can speed up the procees ! So you end up at the same place !!
My 2c
❤
Epic Rant!! Agree with much of it. My hope is that it turns out to be a gateway into a world of musical enquiry for those who would never have thought they'd be interested, and that the next step would be a more authentic form of SELF expression. Also, at some point I think there will be a huge movement away from everything AI-generated, if for no other reason than to save whatever is left of our humanity.
I really like the point you made here. Your comparison of AI generated art/music to happy meals was particularly apt in how it conveyed that, while AI-generated music may be "okay" to listen to, and may be better than whatever the composer would have made without it, will never manage to advance music, as a whole, forward. In my opinion, though the short term effects of AI-music will be detrimental to people's creativity and purpose, the broader implications are far more worrying. I know for sure I don't want to live in a world where one of my favorite pieces of music was never made because the artist was disheartened by the learning curve, or because they couldn't compete in a landscape with so much auditory fluff. Thank you for this video.
Completely agree! I love being a creator, weirdly enough I am not a great musician, but I love making music. I treat my DAW as my instrument.
as you should! DAW is indeed an instrument. Keep up making music, if it makes you happy. That's the best part.
@@Quimmoo Thanks man.
“Is it doing what I already creatively do or is it stealing from me”? Felt that one.
I agree 100% I love the creative vision and making sounds and learning and growing with peoples. Don't let AI take the soul out of music! People need to go back to acoustic instruments. I love writing music!
Tech is fine & I’m not scared of it. That said, the advent of all this stuff has ABSOLUTELY pushed me towards getting a piano & learning to play, I love music that much & I’m that committed to it.
Spot on Nathan 💯 “I WANT REAL” 🎶⭐️🎶
I think about this with dread ALL THE TIME!!
Nathan, I’m 41 years old and am working against time to get to a point to where I can live my lifelong dream making music for a living, so it is tempting to make short cuts with AI, BUT I really want to do it the right way!
I have so much to say and communicate..maybe I just need a mentor to help me get past so many hurdles to make something that sounds good...
Much love my friend. Been watching you for so long and you’ve helped me get past many of those hurdles.
Stay the course. Be patient. I know it is hard but doing it the right way is worth it.
I'm in a similar boat as you, and it feels like this goal is getting further and further away. But then I think of someone like Sibylle Baier, who only became famous after she died. Her music is some of the most beautiful and haunting I've ever heard. I can bring myself to cry just thinking about it. It's sad to think she may have had the same dreams we did and put them aside to live a more ordinary life or because she felt her dream could never happen. But we get to listen to her anyway, and that's a real gift. So maybe you and I won't get to know the impact our music makes in our lifetime, but the people who hear it after we're gone will be glad we didn't cut corners and spoke from the heart.
I can feel how annoyed this makes you but then you are 1000% right, I don't feel excited when AI do the job for me even if it sounds good.
Bro i dont want AI to make me more irrelevant, but you have to use it if you wanna compete with the ones that do.
Bro you seriously said everything i had in my mind,much love to actual musicians❤
Dude, all of the actual artists and musicians out here feel the exact same way. Non-artistic opportunists and little clout gremlins without a creative bone in their body will seize on AI tech to make some money and be obnoxious as always, and popular "music" will continue to be bland, homogenous, algorthmic soup. And as it does, real original music and real Art, with real ineffable, intangible, heart and soul invested in it, will still stand in stark relief to the plastic happy meal BS. Keep making real music man and keep the faith, people who think, feel and love music on a deep level will always be able to tell the difference. Your work is more important than ever now.
I say we take off an nuke the site from orbit.
Ai can't put the emotions and different ideas in music like a passionate music creator 💯
It can
Ai art and music isn’t art or music! STOP USING AI. It’s lazy and stupid. I’ve been saying this ever since AI music became a thing. Thank you for saying this! Great video! I completely agree with what you said. Loops also suck. Never used loops and never will. It’s a personal choice. AI music and loops ARE NOT creative. Get a clue.
Great stuff, Nathan. Completely agree.
A note on this - “Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding” Proverbs 23:23. If our lives are rooted in the truth (Christ), we cannot accept falsehood (includes deceit). Keep aiming for integrity!
Totally agree. We are the CREATOR. Lets always make us that way
Use AI as a companion or a mentor. Don't use AI to make your work for you then
I instantaneously wrote a song while watching this video in my kitchen, here’s some of the lyrics (was literally singing this to myself, it was a dark scene, very depressing):
🎵Creatives gonna like doing creative things
🎶And business people gonna like doin the business things, 🎶makin that money anyhow anyway and they’ll be happy
🎵This is a sad song✨
🎤Don’t make your songs so bad, like this, cause then your losing the war against, the ai overlords they can be mean
🎵Consumers just wanna have good stuff to keep consumin
🎶Would your music be better if it was made by the brain of a machine?
🎼Oh!
-now before you comment that i didn’t rhyme enough, try singing it.. it’s kinda catchy
(Should note immediately that I’m a fan and a subscriber, i don’t mean for these song lyrics to give off any more negativity than they have to - keep up the good work!)
Honestly I use it as a inspirational tool to generate ideas but I don't have access to daws. I also use it because I can't sing well at the time and wanna get ideas by hearing other vocals singing my own hand written lyrics. What I've found it indeed AI will get close to some emotional chords or harmonies but just doesn't fully hit it solid. Just throw away ideas of fun and inspiration in my opinion no more. My respect to you dedicated and amazing artists who put in so much time and effort. 💕🙏🏻
Thank you for this, Nathan! You are voicing all of the concerns I’ve had about songwriters and musicians getting into AI. There is no way that technology can replace digging deep to create something totally unique. We were created to be creative and express ourselves through the gifts God has given us.
I remember when you took a lot of time to answer one of my questions on this channel and it just showed me how passionate you are about the music and teaching us a lot. And above all you are a sincere and good person so thumbs up for this video and keep on doing your thing
Some like instant potatoes...But there's just something about peeling the potatoes, boiling them, adding milk, butter, pull the mixer out, fluff dem bad boys up & slap them on the plate. The whole process is worth it, taste wise.
Microwave "just add water" potatoes just don't hit my taste buds the same way...in my opinion.
"He who hath an ear, hear."😉
(In agreement with your statement/video. Rather be creative & build from scratch.)
I totaly agree with you and your way to see music and human creativity in general.
agree
Greatly put together Nathan. But I think and fear Ai will destroy creativity altogether. Very difficult time is coming for us. :(
Those of us making great music should not be in fear. This is why pushing the limits of creativity and building a brand that has a connection to a REAL audience is so important.
Looks like you are on the right track - I didnt talk at all about the fear of AI "taking things over" in this video because I'm personally not afraid of that.
Make yourself irreplaceable.
100% with you, music is so much more than just its sound. The authenticity of emotion and creativity is something that is in comparable to to coherency of AI. I can see how it can be easy for many to cave in on usage of AI, but i hope people for the future generation stick to their own creative processes
bang on
I hear you bro, and I'm with you. As you've said, AI is only a tool. It seems scary, and it will keep going, but at the end of the day it's merely something that talented people can all use to magnify their creativity. We are not at the stage where some loser teen can take over our jobs. It still needs the vision. We can all tell the difference between authentic and AI generated art. It will always takes a human touch, and we will always be able to tell the difference.
Nathan, first off, love your channel and the work you put into your videos! Second, I think all artists are going through this mental struggle right now. I make my living as a commercial advertising photographer and digital artists specializing in high end product and architectural imagery. I've been an artist my entire life and have a passion for the creative process. I have thousands of dollars invested in cameras, lenses and lighting equipment. I've spent years working on my craft. And like many artists, I've sacrificed a lot to be able to make a living in a creative field. Now anyone and everyone can use AI tools like Midjourney and create photo realistic AI imagery with no experience making images professionally. It can be done in a fraction of the time and without any real knowledge or understanding of lighting or how cameras work. To my knowledge, at this point in time, I'm not loosing jobs to amateur image makers who are inexperienced in the field of commercial photography and using generative AI to create photographic images.
All artists are wondering what their future holds as creative professionals. Will people still want authenticity in the work we create? Will people actually care if what they're seeing or hearing was created by another human being? Man....in this era of data and automation, I don't know sometimes. But I believe that whether they realize it or not, people need "the arts" in their lives. A world without unique original music, art, movies, books etc would be a terrible world to live in. One thing we have going for us at the moment (unless this changes in the future) is that under current Copyright law, AI generated anything is not protectable. If it's not protectable under copyright law, then it's not commercially viable for creators and companies that want to protect their intellectual property. Also, this years writers strike afforded writers certain protections against AI. To what extent, I'm not entirely sure. My best guess is that working professionals in other creative industries might follow suit as these technologies develop. But we'll just have to wait and see.
All that to say, as a fellow artist, I share your frustration and hope for the best possible outcome for anyone looking to have a career in the arts, doing what they love most. Cheers man 🍻
Yeah, so in the world that I'm pursuing more (sync licensing - music in television) AI is not gonna be used anytime soon because all the legal issues - you can't copyright AI music, and one thing that matters A LOT in the world of music in television is that legal issues are no joke... if you use a sample in a song that is licensed - you HAVE to disclose it and it could actually jeopordize whether the song will be used at all because the music supervisor/studio now needs to get permission from the original owner and secure two licenses. it's very complicated.
So in that sense - I'm not worried.
I'd leave it with this... it will be more important than ever that artists build a brand identity around what they do.
Your photos are more than just the photos but the person behind the camera, too - and people buy into brand.
It's ALWAYS been this way with music... artists who are the most successful don't make all the money from music but from their brand that they can sell and build a business around. So think big and build a brand identity - that is the way moving forward.
@@NathanJamesLarsen Oh yeah man, it's all about licensing and usage, no matter what type of art you're creating. Commercial photography is the same exact way. I regularly register my work with the US Copyright Office. That includes my photography, CGI imagery and music that I've written. I always retain copyright ownership of my work and license the usage. That's how you make a living as an artist. I'd imagine you do the same thing with your work.
One other thing that still hasn't been determined yet in court: Whether or not it's considered "Fair Use" or "Copyright Infringement" that these generative AI platforms are using the copyrighted work of artists in order to create their data sets. The tech companies claim fair use and the artists who've had no choice in the matter say copyright infringement. I haven' heard a verdict on that just yet.
I completely agree you. Diversifying your revenue stream is just part of being a creative these days and branding plays an important role no matter what type of art you're creating. I'm not sure if you're a Metallica fan or not, but they ran their entire 72 Seasons launch like a traditional ad campaign. That album itself has a brand within itself.
So well said. Wasn’t harsh, just truthful. Thanks man! Not sure how music is gonna survive this next era. It’s sad. We might have some re-inventing to do. God bless you my man!
I’m just commenting to get the algorithms going. Truly amazing video!
Thank you for the video. I could not have said it better myself. Stay Human!!
I miss the time when everything was simple and everything sounded great . You guys notice how shitty music is nowadays and how bad it sound in every sound system .
I picked up music last year mostly because even if I create mediocre midi melody it gives me instant satisfaction which helps me unplug from work but still create something. Even if AI could create exactly what I have in my head I wouldn't try it - I want to have the process of randomly picking something great on guitar or laying piano the right way have a struggle to evolve it and embellish it until I hate it so much I throw it away...that is fun and satisfying.
Screw AI generated automation.
I got a McDonalds ad halfway through this video, lol. Right now, it can be confusing what A.I. in music is. There are ways to generate a tune via a prompt, but there are also tools that can help songwriters/producers to express themselves better than before. I'm looking into Audimee, where you can replace your own vocals by a professional session singer, this is basically replacing your timbre and the result depends on the quality of your own performance. It's A.I. to an extent, but the song, lyrics and vocal performance are not A.I. generated, but simply enhanced via A.I. We need more distinct labels as to how A.I. was used. For me, Audimee is like a vocal virtual instrument, it's about how the vocal sounds. A polished upgrade from my own (not so stellar) singing voice. The performance, melody, timing, pitch etc. is still made by a human creator in this example. So, A.I can also be a great tool to open new doors for your own creativity. It's about your intention. I agree, music is about personal emotional expression, the human experience... connecting people. In the end, creators are going to create and I hope people will recognize the good stuff from the fake, shallow stuff.
The things you have mentioned are really true and the these are the things the people in young generations must get to know about.
Some really good points made here!
I agree… btw can we see an updated 2023 studio tour?
Right on brother🙌🏿
It sounds like music is facing the same challenge and conversation that digital art faced a year ago (and is still ongoing). My stand for art might be the same for music: do the art yourself and only use AI for ideas and reference, and maybe use it more only for the commercial stuff where people are struggling with deadlines anyway. For personal work, I don’t see the point so much because it’s not only about the end result but also about the journey there.
Thanks for this video and this point of view, finally someone that is trying to do something meaningful to inspire! People of our generation or at least more towards 70s 80s 90s I feel have the responsibility to inspire younger generations as we saw before and after and we have a term of comparison. I’m so happy to hear someone gets it, like music is much more than a formula or a marketing strategy, music is life! Thanks much support to you, let’s keep going!
I've never seen anyone talking about how bad AI is like i'm always seeing these AI ads and stuff wow
That's cause all the companies pushing it are paying out content creators.
Amen brother!
Well said. The music industry is becoming so saturated with fake music. The whole thing is RIGGED! To be completely honest with you, and I'm sure you already know this, but even most if not all of the top artists aren't authentic. And it's not because they're using AI, which I'm sure some are, but it's because they're just slaves to their record labels. The big-name Record Labels are literally paying you to sing about stuff that will bring in the money. If not, then you lose the record label deal. I mean, isn't it evident? I've heard the same old heart break song over and over again, just with a slightly different catchy beat haha. This is why I've decided that if I want to get into the music making business, then it would mostly be just as a hobby, which is fine. I realistically can't make REAL music and expect to keep up with all the others that use pre-recorded loops and AI to make their 'hit songs' in just a few hours... and I say "hours" literally. Plus, their music is barely music. It's got a catchy beat but that's most of what music is nowadays. It's about the melody, the harmony... the story; music should encourage you and bring you peace of soul and hope, not make you feel like you're on your own and nobody cares about you, or how it sparks your lower passions. Sadly, since people don't recognize God, that's how most people want to feel, so that's what the Record Labels want 'artists' to sing about, because it's how most people can relate to it, which equals more streams which means more money. Sad.
100% Percent in agreement! However I do use one tool that is AI based. It's an AI vocalist. I still have to create the notes (melody) type the lyrics. Finesse it to sound authentic and dynamic. It's still my work going into it. More libraries are requiring music with vocals and this has been an affordable means for me. We are in a changing market where stock music libraries are turning more to AI generated tracks for their clients. I don't care for it. The cut corners mentality in this market so they don't have to wait, pay, or hire is just a waste!
The world needs videos like this
I heavily doubt AI will ever replace real musicians in any significant capacity... It will for sure give the tools and resources to those who are not necessarily seasoned musicians to illustrate the things they have in their minds and experiment with unorthodox things, and that can be influential. However, it will never EVER be close to mirroring the organic nature of human creativity. It won't be able to randomly create nuances and happy accidents that suddenly become the next musical trend everybody will be into.
Absolute worst case scenario where AI gets a mediocre hold of it, things like having bands and live music will become a super exclusive line of business that people will have much more motive to pay for.
I am personally seeing an inclination to step away from digital shenanigans when it comes to music. Big artists selling long plays again, studios getting physical gear again because there's way too many plugins and things are sounding too alike between producers and artists... You name it. For the same reason I see people staying away from digital distribution services because the moment they lose rights over X piece of entertainment, those become unavailable until further notice. Owning physical stuff is getting cool again, slowly but surely. Tech companies overstepped their bounds and people's not as happy as the media/marketing tells us.
I think it depends if your goal is going from A to B or if you enjoy the trip regardless to the destination. It feels like biking up a mountain sweating like a donkey and seeing an happy fat guy that passes you on an e-bike while is taking a selfie. That being said I share your romantic and philosophical view. I am a drummer I sometimes I feel like selling ice to people with a fridge. Bless you!
I've been writing and recording for over 40 years. In all that time I've made $75.00 for a track I created for a play, and they ended up not even using it, so I'm not into it for the money. On the other hand I've spent thousands of dollars on DAW's, software, hardware, VST's, all because I enjoy the process. So, it's a hobby. I play my stuff for friends and they shrug and move on. Not much interest. I also have a backlog of 100s of lyrics that I've never gotten around to recording. I work a day job so it leaves very little time for the fun stuff. I agree...if you make a living from making music then AI is bad or at it's best, helpful. I now use AI to make music mainly for my own amusement. I would never sell it or pass it off as anything but AI generated music. I feel for all those affected but it's not going away.
Loved this video , totally agreed 👍👍👍
Straight facts, too few people have this mindset !
Totally feel you man. 100%!
If you'd make music without making any money on it, what's the problem? There will always be room for artists to do art. You can qualify another method as "not art" but more people buy happy meals than Michelin star meals, doesn't mean there isn't value for either.
The point I'm making is that it is not a money problem in the first place... it's a creative problem. People really gotta start thinking of art first and money later.
Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
@@NathanJamesLarsen I think if your goal is to be a musician or a composer what you're saying makes tons of sense. But the composer doesn't have to learn to play each instrument. Similarly if your art incorporates, rather than is, music, there's plenty of reasons to be excited about advancements in generative AI. I would have been thrilled when I was in film school, for instance.
We love the Nathan rants 🙂.
Nathan you are the type of musician I would like to do work with ! Thanks for talking the Truth about The ( I ) in (A.I) Music, Creation 😊 Philosophy intelligence
I completely agree
Agree 100% but honestly Music Industry has been doing this for years and years. Cost first, THEN music. Since like 1980 with drum machines (shiting on drummers that studied for years). Then autotune (shiting on singers that studied for years). And son on with whatever technology available at the time. Performance is vital part of music. To me: no performance-no music. A washing machine can make noise patterns when working, that doesnt make it a percussionist.
Artists should certainly remind themselves of their intrinsic motivators; you've expressed yourself well; it is important to affirm the things that drive you, but it is important to separate these from your business goals. Consumers don't often care how anything is created. Autotune didn't go away - it became ubiquitous. Do we really imagine AI adoption will be different? Artists as business owners are especially prone to dopamine-driven risk i.e., the pursuit of purity over the risk of poverty. My recommendation is to embrace any and all tools/skills to make you competitive - which of course includes seeking depth in music/production theory. Try to remember that a customer's payment is a reward for your ability to *align* with what they want - not necessarily what *you* want. E.g., McDonalds adding healthier food options is a wonderful case study in understanding/measuring changing customer preferences and finding increased profitability as a result. Sorry if my advice sounds overly clinical, but I've seen too many starving artists angrily shake their fists at the heavens wondering what they've done wrong. Love your videos Nathan :)
while I am the one who used the Mcdonalds reference - music is not comparable to the business of mcdonalds or any other business model. What the consumer wants is obviously important - but if we are simply making music that consumers want - then there will actually be no push to be more creative. Just look at the trends in music - it's like a pendulum. Things become overly simplified - and then there's a push to become complex (Jacob Collier) and the appetite is ever changing - this is why we actually need artists who are pushing boundaries - and AI can only use the data it's been given. So if you wanna make cookie cutter - then that's fine... but I would argue consumers don't know what they want in music until it is upon them.
You can't compare completely different business models like art to restaurants.
Beyond that - the whole point of my video was not the business of music but the creativity of music and 99.9% of people making music are never going to make it a business.
@@NathanJamesLarsen Thank you for your reply. I was being sincere in that I've loved many of your videos (and your music), including this video. I hope everyone strives to be as passionate and professional as you are. Even if we might disagree on certain minutia, I'll continue to support your channel!
I primarily work in the software industry and I'm a hobbyist musician. With that said, I might offer a quick technical clarification. AI is a blanket term - the critique often heard about AI being 'only as good as the data its trained on' or being a 'glorified autocomplete' is usually referring to recent Large Language Model (LLM) approaches. OpenAI (the company behind ChatGPT) became famous for reinforcement learning (RL) techniques before their recent LLM success. RL can generate super human results without looking at *any* existing training data. There are even approaches that can even generate novel training data and have it judged by *other AI.* I realize you may have been speaking colloquially, but for folks reading, it is important to realize that AI's perceived 'creativity' is not necessarily restricted to human ingenuity - it can (and has) surpassed it in certain areas. This trend will not stop as huge sums of investment money are being piled on by investors/governments around the world. This is a long winded way of saying...AI is the dumbest it will ever be today - it'll only get smarter from here.
Meanwhile, things like MIDI packs, AI-based production, etc can help you get closer to what consumers are paying for much faster. There are folks that are going to be using AI to aggressively out-earn everyone else (even if quality suffers) across all sectors of our economy. Also, you identified some great points - i.e., songs marketed well have heightened perceived 'value' (as measured by views/listens/clicks/purchases). Marketing is yet another domain I highly recommend artists look to AI for assistance.
With all of that said, I hope producers hone their musical craft like you are saying. There is no stopping the AI train however, so might as well hop on board - you may even like where it takes you.
I agree Nathan. The sad thing is that eventually AI will do it “better” if it doesn’t already. But even if AI can mix better than I can, or create “better” sounding music than me, I will always prefer to listen to music that was created by humans, mixed by humans because as you rightly pointed out, it’s a snapshot of the human experience. So give me all the flubs and happy accidents! Give me the humanity and fingerprints. I prefer it over the flawless and pristine. But to each their own I guess?
PREACH! Yes!
It's so upsetting to know that THIS is what people are doing to "make music". It's insulting to real songwriters who work so hard on their songs. AI music is not music, it's just a hollow imitation. I sincerely hope that society won't cave to this, and will still seek authentic, meaningful music created BY A TALENTED HUMAN BEING. As a Gen Z, it frightens me to look at my own generation and what they consider "cool". Wake up, this isn't art. Use your head a little and realize what this is going to do to music. Or even what it's going to do to entertainment and art as a whole! I think we should all be against this, but we aren't. Of course there's tons of people who are, but there are so many who are just okay with this. Who support it, even.
But at the same time, maybe this will be good for authentic songwriters, and here's why. I can't just believe that everyone's going to go for the AI music thing, and with the rise of AI surely there will be people who are out searching for real music. When they find artists who aren't using any AI, but are instead relying on talent and passion, they're gonna love it, right? Maybe that artist could really connect with an audience of people who are fed up with AI? I don't know, maybe. If AI music must keep rising, I hope that's how this goes, and I hope it happens quick. It'd suck if we had like a 20 year span where AI music is the norm and real music is just kinda pushed away...
1 Million percent!
I AGREE!!!!!! People don't get this anymore.
Don't worry Nathan, your music is to good for AI to replicate. All the subtle nuances in your arrangements and so......
You're music is life, Ai music sounds dead.
We love your music because i hear Nathan.
My concern isn't being replaced - I'm not even in the slightest concerned about that ... my concern is entirely around the meaning of why we make music and how if we go down this path and take it to its furtherest conclusion then people will essentially lose the heart and soul of what is so beautiful in making music.
My prediction is that in 5-10 years there'll be a huge pendulum swing toward people building brands around making music that is specifically NOT using AI. And it will be marketed that way. I can absolutely see that happening.
And those of us who put in the time will greatly benefit from it.
In this middle of all of this is incredible opportunity for those who see it. I am saddened by it - but truth be told - it creates A LOT of opportunity for me personally.
100% agree on this. Under capitalism its no surprise that art's value is shifting towards surface aesthetic and away from actual creative processes.
AI will rob us of our souls. No matter who you are, if you care about art or self expression you should be aware of this. What do we have to offer as human beings, if we're outdone by something that has no emotions whatsoever? Who wants to start making music if they know AI produces faster and better? This is absolutely frightening. I hope it will never get that far.
100% agree