AI Generated Music is Here
We are seeing the first AI generated music gain popularity
You may have heard some AI-generated music, mostly created for comic effect. I first encountered a batch of country songs about topics not traditionally associated with the genre; one song I recall off the top of my head involves the singer’s preference for having his nipples pulled. Another song, by Girly Girl Productions, is about how girls don’t need guys—they just need cocaine. This song is both amusing and surprisingly catchy.
What struck me as noteworthy is that Girly Girl Productions has an album on Spotify with a substantial number of listens. As of now, the most popular song, 10 Drunk Cigarettes, has 2.7 million plays, and many other songs on the album have around half a million. This indicates that people are genuinely listening to this album. I’ve heard people claim that AI wouldn’t be able to write music with emotional resonance. While the AI-generated music I’ve heard isn’t among the best music out there, it’s still better than the worst.
I listen to a lot of music. I’ll often browse the new release section on Spotify and listen to all the albums being released, and most of them are pretty terrible. One problem is that the barrier to entry in music is now so low. But aside from that, this Girly Girl Productions album is better than at least 30% of the new releases that I find unlistenable.
I don’t know how far off we are, but I think that somewhere not too far over the horizon, we’ll see an AI-generated song reach a spot in the top 10. Someone writing music may have to create a lot of songs before getting a top 10 hit, but with AI-generated music, millions of people could be generating 100 songs a day. Even if most aren’t very good, with so many songs being created, the chances of one becoming a unique pop hit are more than zero.
The argument that people won’t want to listen to AI-generated music because it lacks a deep meaning has already been proven false, as the numbers show. While it may not be the deep meaning but the comedic aspect that draws listeners, remember: today is the least advanced AI will ever be.