Venezuelan-born visual artist Pedro Sandoval has released two albums created entirely by artificial intelligence (AI) on Spotify, the first music of its kind certified by the streaming platform, amid mounting fears over AI in music, reports Euronews.
Sandoval, now based in Spain, worked with a couple of collaborators for three years to develop the two AI vocalists, dubbed ZKY-18 and Dirty Marilyn. The voices, while wholly AI-generated, sound remarkably real against the electronic scoring of songs like “El Beso de la Mujer Araña” (Kiss of the Spider Woman) and “Buscando Oro en Tu Corazón” (Searching for Gold in Your Heart).
An album launch party was held in Madrid last Saturday, presenting the two albums to international guests and personalities from the worlds of music and technology.
Sandoval is a staunch defender of AI as a tool, arguing that, when used well, it allows for the expansion of creative possibilities without substituting the essence of the artist. The value of works using AI, he told Euronews, “depends on the instructions and refinement that the artist applies to the process.”
[See more: AI startups are being hit with copyright lawsuits from the world’s biggest music labels]
At the same time, there is mounting concern among musicians about the implications of the technology. Whether it’s AI stealing a real artist’s voice to cover an existing song, grifters slapping a real artist’s name on cheap AI-generated music to rack up streams or a producer churning out thousands of songs to be streamed by bots, the future of AI in music poses important ethical questions.
A global economic study released last December by the creators’ rights advocacy organisation Confédération Internationale des Sociétés d’Auteurs et Compositeurs (CISAC) found that use of generative AI in music is likely to enrich tech companies while “substantially jeopardising the income of human creators.” It estimated staggering losses of 4 billion euros (US$4.38 billion) annually by 2028 if the current rate of market penetration by generative AI continues. Streaming platforms like Spotify, the study argues, will play a critical role in the AI takeover as automated playlists push listeners toward AI tracks instead of human-made music.
The ballooning market for non-human authored music is expected to increase to 16 billion euros annually by 2028. While much of this will be background or incidental music, it still represents a significant shift away from human artists.
Speaking to Euronews last December, CISAC President Björn Ulvaeus – member of the famed group ABBA – echoed Sandoval’s view that AI can be a powerful tool for creators, under the right conditions. “[If] badly regulated, generative AI also has the power to cause great damage to human creators, to their careers and livelihoods,” he said.
