Can Robots Write Love Songs? 13 Artists Break the Silence on AI in Music
AI-generated music is no longer science fiction - it's here, it's fast, and it's sparking everything from existential dread to cautious curiosity. We asked 13 musicians from across the genre map to weigh in.
Platforms like AIVA, Soundraw, and Suno are already letting anyone generate music with just a few clicks - no instruments, no bandmates, just a few keystrokes. The artists we spoke to are split into three camps: the skeptics, who fear AI is a soulless intrusion, the realists, who view it as just another creative tool, and the open-minded, who are curious to see where this tech might take us.
The Skeptics
"AI Will Never Replace Human Emotion"
Many musicians express deep concerns about AI-generated music, fearing it lacks the emotional nuance and human connection that define great art.
The Harpoonist (Blues/Rock)
"I hate it!!!! Using AI to replace one of the most “HUMAN” things we do and cherish is NUTS!!! Trying to connect us with AI's interpretation of our humanity in a world that seems to be endlessly striving for faster commodities is a recipe for sadness and even more disconnectedness.
I'm speaking about songwriting, and lyrics, not tech with plugins and soft synths, although it becomes a slippery slope when we replace mix engineers, mastering engineers, etc with plugin tools and people lose their careers and connection with one another.
Why would we want to lose our personal connection with humaneness in the name of getting AI to generate our expression and love, lust, hate, sadness, hope, political song, protest, etc?"
From our Interview with the Harpoonist
Tyler Costolo (Slowcore/Bedroom Pop)
"AI in the arts gives me such existential dread. I hate how it’s already being used to replace real artists. It’s a weird situation, AI should be able to perform work tasks to allow us to have more time to create art. Instead, we’re still doing the work and AI is being used as the artists.
Seems like backward progress to me."
From our Interview with Tyler Costolo
CIAO MALZ (Indie rock)
"The only AI-generated music I’ve been okay with is the videos that feature Gary the Snail from Spongebob singing Landslide by Fleetwood Mac.
In all seriousness, I think AI-generated music feels weird and unnecessary. It’s the same way I feel about removing every breath from a vocal, it loses emotional nuance. As of right now, it does not make sense to me."
From our Interview with CIAO MALZ
My Best Unbeaten Brother (Indie Rock/Post Punk Trio)
"I value quite simple but idiosyncratic music and am not sure AI would add much to this. It’s an interesting concept, and maybe I’m just too old to fully grasp the possibilities, but the idea of listening to a computer doesn’t excite me too much.
I like the act of expression that has limitations and imperfections, and I suspect AI will easily transcend these factors but will lose the magic in the process."
From our Interview with My Best Unbeaten Brother
Propter Hawk (Rock and Roll)
"There will always be an emotional disconnect with AI-generated music. Music is born from joy, love, and despair, emotions that can't be replicated by ones and zeros. Humans crave genuine connection, and once the novelty of AI fades, people will return to the music that truly makes them feel. After all, “Life is a tragedy for those who do not feel."
From our Interview with Propter Hawk
The Realists
"AI Is Just Another Tool - If Used Right"
While some artists are skeptical, others acknowledge AI’s potential as a creative tool, if used responsibly.
Avery Friedman (Alternative/Indie)
"I've never used AI in my music-making/promotion and I am sure there are ways it can and will be a tool for artists.
For me, though, thus far, music-making has been a practice rooted in a very human sense of collaboration and process -- in all of its messiness and lack of efficiency and ephemerality and inexplicability. And I'm a bit wary of anything that attempts to replicate or machine-ize that process in the name of productivity."
From our Interview with Avery Friedman
Elaine Mai (Electronic)
"I think people will always want music created by people. Yes, AI can make music, but is that really the application we want?
Efficiencies in helping artists release and plan are where I see a real opportunity for things to be more streamlined, especially for independent artists."
From our Interview with Elaine Mai
Jontan (Chicago Musician)
"Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I believe AI cannot compose “Hey Jude,” “Bésame Mucho,” or “The Girl From Ipanema.” Note that I qualified my last statement.
While AI looks like a recombinant tool for the time being, I think musicians are genuinely concerned about how it will affect our art form. None of us knows how it will shake out. From a historical view, I think AI in music will go down as another controversial technological advancement. Plenty of watershed moments in music technology have inspired backlash, going back to the phonograph record. It reportedly sounded way worse than Thomas Edison's wax cylinder and didn't even play at a consistent speed (all records play faster as you get towards the center). But the records were cheaper, easier to store, and boasted exclusive recordings of many important artists of the day. Not to mention the synthesizer, drum machine, CDs, and iTunes, all of which attracted their fair share of controversy, earning near-universal adoption, before losing out to new technologies, then finally enjoying a resurgence in coolness for a select view. Will 2040's hepcats listen to 96Kbps .mp3s on NOS iPods? Should credible colleagues champion AI songwriting tools, I imagine I'll still continue doing it the old-fashioned way. Even if the AI writes killer choruses?
I write for amusement, reflection, and satisfaction. If I give my job to the robot, I miss out. If I wanted to prosper, I would practice law.
From our Interview with Jontan
Ted Zakka (Americana/Country Rock - Ted Z and the Wranglers)
"I am not sure where the AI rise in music will lead. I can only hope that whatever it morphs into it does not take away from the passion and art that humans are capable of creating."
From our Interview with Ted Zakka
Casii Stephan (Indie-Pop Meets Soul-Rock Singer-Songwriter)
"I was concerned at first and now I'm not. I think it just helps amplify the artist more. I think AI-generated art starts wearing on me. I want to be amazed by a human creating something. I want to connect with other people and look at what they did and what they experienced and engage with them. I want to feel the electricity of a band coming together and playing so well they feel like one organism. You can't get that with AI. Again, I might be naive, but I feel like we need that connection, and sure robots are fun for a period of time. And some people may like that music better. But at the end of the day, it always comes back to finding your audience and connecting with people."
From our Interview with Casii Stephan
The Open-Minded
"AI Can Expand Creative Possibilities"
A smaller group of musicians see AI as an exciting new frontier in music-making, rather than a threat.
Lewis Gill (Avant-Garde Composer)
"I was a bit freaked out regarding AI only a few days ago, I heard a 'New Pink Floyd Album' that had been generated by AI and thoroughly enjoyed it! There's endless philosophical debate regarding the aesthetics of AI-generated art and music and I honestly don't yet know enough about it to have a strong opinion on it - but the Pink Floyd album made me realize just how advanced it can be.
Regarding classical music, I guess there's a similar situation, I can easily imagine a 'New Mozart Piece' generated by AI being quite compelling."
From our Interview with Lewis Gill
Julia-Sophie (Electronic Pop)
"AI-generated music undeniably presents an intriguing prospect for the future of music. As AI technology continues to advance, it's likely to play an increasingly significant role in various aspects of music production, composition, and performance and has the potential to revolutionise how music is created, offering new tools and possibilities for artists to explore.
In my own creative process, I'm open to experimenting with AI technology as a complement to traditional methods of music production. However, I believe it's essential to approach AI with caution and to maintain a balance between human creativity and technological innovation.
Ultimately, the most compelling music often arises from the synergy between human intuition, emotion, and imagination, and I believe that AI should be seen as a tool to augment and enhance our creative abilities rather than replace them entirely/"
From our Interview with Julia-Sophie
Kentucky (Acoustic Rock, Indie Rock, Singer-Songwriter)
I would actually have to say that an amazing example of AI benefitting music positively is the advent of the "Mastering Assistant" in Apple's recording software Logic Pro X. Many mastering engineers (whose work I greatly respect) would tell you that it's not the same and will never be the same. I probably agree. But since when did something new become the enemy of art? Something new IS art. I'm into it.
From our Interview with Kentucky
The Debate Rages On
From deep skepticism to cautious optimism, musicians are divided on AI-generated music. Some fear it will erase human artistry, while others see it as a tool for innovation. The only thing that’s certain? AI is here, and it’s changing the future of music whether we like it or not.
What do you think? Is AI a threat to creativity, or just another tool for artists? Have you used AI to create music? Join the debate in the comments!
About Chris Roditis
Chris Roditis has been an active musician since 1995 in various bands and projects across a variety of genres ranging from acoustic, electronic to nu metal, british rock and trip hop. He has extensive experience as a mixing engineer and producer and has built recording studios for most of the projects he has been involved with. His passion for music steered his entrepreneurial skills into founding MusicNGear in 2012.
Contact Chris Roditis at chrisroditis@musicngear.com
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