Ricki Kej, Salim Merchant and 3 other musicians weigh in on how Artificial Intelligence will impact the music industry

Bangalore-based three-time Grammy Award winning music composer and environmentalist Ricky Kej.

In the kaleidoscope of our rich musical tapestry, a silent change is underway, orchestrated not by the maestros wielding traditional instruments, but by the intricate algorithms of Artificial Intelligence (AI). But is it a threat to artistes in the music industry or it is helping them in some way? We spoke to a few composers, singers, musicians to know more. Edited excerpts from conversations:

‘AI is helping me split a song into separate parts’

Salim Merchant, composer-singer

Salim Merchant, composer-singer

"AI is not such a bad thing as much as you think it is and that it’s going to create a lot of damage. It’s not. Artificial intelligence is very useful for a lot of things. For instance, I had done a song with Ustad Sultan Khan sahab 17 years ago, he is no more, and now his son Sabir wants to do that song. Now obviously we do not have the tracks of those songs, but AI will help me take a mix track of that song and split it into separate parts like drums, keyboards, voice, guitar etcetera, etcetera. And that way I can mute Sultan Khan Sahab’s voice and then in his place have his son Sabir sing it. So, AI is a great tool to use in certain situations."

"Sometimes, you have a voice in mind and that voice is not available. What composers are doing these days is that they use AI for a voice. After singing a composition in their voice, now, they can listen to that same song in the voice of a singer they have in mind, for example, Arijit Singh, Sonu Nigam or Shreya Ghoshal. And that is how they figure out how the song will sound in whose voice. Of course, there are negative impacts of AI also. But there are lots of positives. Only time will tell what kind of impact AI will have on music in the near future. I believe that technology is always a good thing. When computers came, people thought that computers would take away the jobs of human beings, but it only made their jobs easier.
AI will also do the same. People should look at the positives. Any good breakthrough in technology always has a negative impact also, so let’s just believe that the glass is half full, rather than half empty."

‘With AI around, composers who make generic music will go extinct because AI will fulfill that need’

Ricky Kej, Three-time Grammy winning composer

Ricky Kej, Three-time Grammy winning composer.

"AI, just like any other technology, will be used as a fantastic tool for music creation. There have always been technological advancements when it comes to the music industry and music creation. In 2000, there were numerous software like Vienna Symphonic Library on giga sampler, that increased the quality of music production. This software had all the sounds of an orchestra, so one didn’t need to spend a huge amount of money hiring 60 -90 musicians, and travel to a foreign country to hire a studio to record an acclaimed orchestra. Instead, you could just use this software and get amazing sounds. Everybody thought that the orchestras were going to go completely out of fashion but that didn't happen!

Even now, when I call a musician to my studio it’s not because of the sound or tone of the instrument but because of the musician's education, experiences, their creativity and sensibility. It's never for their instruments' sound, because for that, there is technology.

I see that happening with AI too. Even now, AI makes some high-quality stuff and it is only going to get better, It is going to serve the purpose of music itself. What is extremely important is to take the art form itself forward and make the art of music thrive. I believe that AI will definitely serve the art and it will do a fantastic job but what will happen in the process is that since AI always works on precedence, AI uses machine learning and that depends upon learning from what has been done in the past. So what AI creates might be unique but it won't be pathbreaking, because that can only be done by a human being. You will need a human composer when you want something absolutely unique and never-been-done-before.

AI will definitely uplift the art form when used properly as a tool and will expose listeners to a variety of music. Also, it will help composers be creative and will also push them to create something that has never been done before. But with AI around, composers who make generic music will go extinct because AI will fulfill that need."

‘AI can appear to be a crutch, ingenuine, and tasteless - but like any new technology, the best is yet to come’

Venky S, Bassist with SANAM band

Venky S, Bassist with SANAM band.

"AI can help musicians explore creative ideas, whether it be lyrically (through apps that expand on your writing and give you suggestions to help aid the rhythm or context of what you’ve written) or through the use of AI voice changers to morph an audio file into a completely different vocal timbre and expression. For a while now, loops and VSTs have been used in production to make things easier for first-time programmers or artists who don’t have a studio or access to good-quality live instrumentation. AI in animation, making music videos using realistic AI characters, etc., is where it looks pretty compelling. AI can appear to be a crutch, ingenuine, and tasteless - but like any new technology, the best is yet to come."

‘I have started using AI to generate visuals for my live performances on stage’

Anupam Roy, composer-singer

Anupam Roy, composer-singer.

"Whenever something new comes we should have an open mind to see what’s going on and if it’s great, to accept it. AI is at that point in our industry now. Many companies are testing it out and the possibilities seem to be huge. If it really helps in music making and writing lyrics we should be using as per needs. I am open to accepting AI as it is. When it comes to live performances, I have started using AI to generate visuals for our shows on stage. We use a software that creates amazing visuals for concerts, so we don’t have to go through the process of actual shooting and filming. I can only see pros when it comes to AI. We should take help from AI for mundane, boring work, because then we can use that saved time to create something unique. I feel AI will challenge us to create better things."

‘AI will dumb down society if used without creative inputs’

Sanam Puri, Lead vocalist of SANAM band

Sanam Puri, Lead vocalist of SANAM band

"If we use AI as a tool to ideate and expand our creativity, it can help speed up the process and also generate similar ideas for you to use intelligently and creatively. If you use it to completely create everything without any creative input from your side, I guess it will just dumb down society eventually."