The Chainsmokers, a renowned DJ duo, are looking to take advantage of AI for their music, such as crafting multiple different versions of their own voices. Notable artists including John Legend, Sia and Demi Lovato have already given their permission to YouTube to make use of AI with their voices. However, AI presents a worrying level of competition and potential copyright infringement to human musicians. In spite of this, The Chainsmokers argued at the CNBC Work Summit that listeners will always be more inclined to appreciate the human touch.
Generative AI has the potential to undermine the notion that creativity is a uniquely human trait. Experimentations of such possibilities have been emerging in the music industry, yet they have caused a lot of conflict among artists, songwriters, and producers, because AI has the capability to lessen their jobs and lead to potential copyright concerns. Despite the potential risks, The Chainsmokers, the popular DJ duo of Drew Taggart and Alex Pall, view AI in a positive light. Taggart declared at the CNBC Work Summit, "As an artist, I want every possible tool to make my art better. The only answer is to embrace [AI] and figure out a way to harness it." As a result, the two stars established Mantis VC, a venture capital company with a range of funds totalling nearly $1 billion, in which AI has been incorporated as one of the investments.
AI can replicate the entire development of music, posing a threat to musicians as it has led to the removal of thousands of AI-created songs from Spotify. AI can compose lyrics, create melodies, create beats, and even provide vocals. Even though this could make production of music more democratic as people are able to make tracks from home, it also brings forward issues in regards to original content. This was demonstrated in April when the previously unheard artist Ghostwriter released a song titled 'Heart on my Sleeve' using AI-generated vocals from Drake and The Weeknd, and as a result, it received over 7.6 million views and became the top-liked search result for the track on TikTok. AI-generated covers of famous songs by various artists have been taking over the likes of TikTok and YouTube, sometimes even becoming more popular than the originals. One example is that of an AI-generated cover of Korean song 'Everytime' by Ariana Grande that rose to a staggering 7.6 million views.
Due to present-day tensions, corporations have been making attempts to involve artists. Recently, YouTube introduced its Dream Track experiment which provides users with the opportunity to employ AI-generated versions of certain artists as soundtracks for their video creations. Among the stars in the list of available artists are Alec Benjamin, Charlie Puth, Charli XCX, Demi Lovato, John Legend, Sia, T-Pain, Troye Sivan, and Papoose.For The Chainsmokers, utilizing AI-generated vocals in their music is an attractive prospect. "I would like to be capable of writing a song and designing my own voice that's not mine. I'm aiming for five generated voices of mine within a track," Taggart stated. "I find it as a noteworthy tool that can enable Chainsmokers music to reach a level which it hadn't before."In addition to this, anybody can just type "make me a song that sounds like The Chainsmokers produced it" in an AI tool and get a song within minutes. Or, artists can compose a song from the beginning, but switch their own vocals with those of more renowned artists in order to bring in more clicks.Copyright law provides artists with protection of their creative pieces and grants them with exclusive rights. The Copyright Office also released a formal statement on AI in March, affirming that only the human elements of AI-created work can be copyrighted. In the case of "heart on my sleeve," Universal Music Group was able to use a copyright claim to take the song off streaming platforms. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act allows a rights-holder to request elimination of a breach.
The Chainsmokers have said they wouldn't be against listening to AI-generated music in their style as long as there are measures in place to protect it. Pall commented, "We should have the ability to contact the creator, work together on the idea, or just let them release it. It should all be done legally and fairly though." Although AI-produced songs are seemingly unavoidable, the duo claims that the good ones will always make it to the top.Speaking of AI-generated content, Warner Music Group recently signed its first virtual influencer, Noonoouri, who uses AI for her voice and has gathered a lot of Instagram followers. The Chainsmokers aren't worried about the AI competition though, with Taggart pointing out that people crave authenticity and connection with real artists and stories.
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