The days of debating if artificial intelligence (AI) will impact the music industry are over. Artificial intelligence is already used in many ways. Now it's time to consider how much it will influence how we create and consume music. Just as it does for other industries, in the music industry, AI automates services, discovers patterns and insights in enormous data sets, and helps create efficiencies. Companies in the music industry need to accept and prepare for how AI can transform business; those that won't will be left behind.
Businesses are being reshaped by technology, and those in the music industry are no exception. According to aMcKinsey report, 70 per cent of companies will have adopted at least one AI technology by 2030. The promise of AI is that it will complement and augment our human capabilities. As we make better choices and become more effective and efficient thanks to the insights and support AI provides, it can drive growth and innovation. As a result of AI's impact, the creative process will likely transform.
Scott Cohen is one thought leader in the music industry who saw the potential impact of technology on the music industry's future when others didn't. His thoughts for a distribution company in the digital music age ultimately became The Orchard, which wasacquired by Sony in 2015 for $200 million. During his keynote presentation at the Eurosonic Nooderslag conference, he said, "Every ten years something kills the music industry. If you want to know what's next look at the tech world."
He explained that there are 20,000 new tracks uploaded to Spotify every day and AI is critical for helping sort through the options and delivering recommendations to listeners based on what they’ve listened to in the past. Cohen believes that AI and big data made the “music genre” obsolete because AI-generated playlists are made not based on genre, but what is determined to be good music. In addition, he suggests that our current paradigm of infinite choice is broken and recommends a new model of trusted recommendations. And technology such as blockchain could eliminate the need for brands being a conduit to connect people to music. The live music industry should also be considering how to incorporate augmented and virtual realities to the concert experience.
Back in 1951 British computer scientist,Alan Turing was the first to record computer-generated music using a machine that filled almost an entire floor of the lab. In recent years, therecording was restored by New Zealand researchers 65 years after it was created. Music composition either by AI or using AI continues today. AI starts by analyzing data from different compositions when it creates musical pieces. Through reinforcement learning, the algorithm learns what characteristics and patterns create music that is enjoyable or that mimics a certain genre. The AI model can also compose innovative musical numbers by combining elements in unique ways.
Tech companies are investing in a future where AI creates or assists musicians in creating music. Google'sMagenta project, an open-source platform, produced songs written and performed by AI and Sony developedFlow Machines, an AI system that’s already released “Daddy’s Car,” a song created by AI.
