I will always want to create and make the sort of music I enjoy, and seek out live music that excites me; neither of those dwell in the realm of mass-market commercial music. I can like what I like, and pay attention to that, feed that. In the face of all the changes that 'commercial music' always goes through (and now AI music is a part of that), I really just don't care, because for most of my adult life I haven't had to worry about that. I know that is different for others, especially those making a living from music, so their concerns are real for them. But I don't have worry about AI music any more than I have to worry about photo-shopped pictures or fake news, because I like what I like and still get to choose what I do. Real life doesn't come through a screen for me.
I'm currently on vacation in Paris, and compared to my home town of San Francisco, the live jazz scene here is un-f-ing-believable. There are many jazz clubs with live music doing two or three sets a night every single night of the week -four or five with a two minute walk from where I'm staying! Phenomenal local musicians. Amazing stuff. Huge variety of music. Packed rooms at 11:00 p.m. on a Tuesday...wtf...
None of it, whether bands doing 'standards', or edgy new stuff, is commercial or 'popular' in a mass market sense, but damn is it ever good.
I'm not worried about AI, or midi, photoshop or fake news changing any of this.
Good points!
I make my living writing, producing, and playing music on recordings. I've been doing it for 32 years. Most have been ads. There have been TV documentaries and indie films. Anyway, I've written a ton of music.
I practiced law before going into the music biz. Yes, of course I was completely insane to become a composer. I did it anyway. Not for the money, though it's been a good career. I simply feel fulfilled expressing myself in music. I like thinking, I like working hard, and I like creating. I also love audio. So I like mixing, mastering and all the other stuff that goes along with music production.
To keep my chops up, for the past few years, I've been writing and recording orchestral music. I make no money with it. I just do it because I feel I need to. I write constantly. I like being proud of my work, money or no money.
At this point, I think most of it is pretty good. I'm learning things, even in my advanced state of ancient-ness (I know, there's no such word, but I'm not writing this with AI, and I'm allowing myself creative license!). Maybe I should make up an entire language that AI doesn't know.
After thinking about all this, and especially after reading Rhythmking's post, I realized that I have no fear at all of AI-generated music, because it won't stop me from expressing myself creatively.
All I can control is what I do. I can't control anything else. I can't control how people respond to the work.
I'm not making music by generating AI. I have no interest in doing so. If a client called and said, "Help us create an AI ad track," I'd decline the opportunity. It's not my thing.
If people are happy with music that wasn't the product of someone's creativity, blood, sweat and tears, there isn't anything I can do about it. I'm still going to do what I do.
Back in college, when things turned hippie, one of my friends had a sweatshirt that said, "F#ck The World". I don't know if he was making a personal statement, or just thought it was cool to wear a thing with 'f#ck' on it back in the day when people didn't do that, but the
sweatshirt had the right idea!
BTW, I've worked on projects in Paris, at a wonderful studio called plus XXX (think 'plus 30', the owner created the first console with 30 db of headroom on the summing bus). I believe he retired and sold it 15 years ago.
I loved working there. It's a wonderful city for music.