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‘AI music lacks the soul and personality that draws us to a person’s artistry’
For the first time, the Wurzels have used artificial intelligence to generate their new song and music video Wurzel Me Up!
For many in the music scene, this has triggered both financial and creative anxieties.
The West Country band’s video starts with a pan over a familiar countryside sight, a field of golden rapeseed. The song title is suspended across the sky.
All of a sudden we’re hit with disco-dancing, sunglasses-wearing pigs; cows bobbing their heads in flower fields and the band members morphing into various muscle-bound and bikini-clad bodies.
As expected, there is a great emphasis on cider, with lyrics such as “with a West-Country twang and a cheeky smile, we’re busting it up cider-style”.
Among the fantastical images, there are old videos of the band performing and even an AI generated image of founder Adge Cutler by the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
Each shot celebrates “the oldest band on the land” and mirrors the parodic style of their own Scrumpy and Western genre.
Yet, both the song and the video distinctly lack personality or musical innovation.
There are two main dimensions to the issues of AI in music.
On a practical level, if studios can employ AI to produce songs and videos – an already exclusive and under-funded industry – it will welcome even fewer musicians and technicians.
It isn’t just those everyday names working away who are anxious, big names like Ed Sheeran and Drake have also voiced concerns.
Ed Sheeran addressed this issue in August 2023, saying he did not understand why we needed AI and worried about it replacing humans with AI.
Drake called out the use of AI his Instagram story in April 2023. Confronted with song covers featuring computer-generated versions of his voice, he declared it the “final straw”.
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On a creative level, AI music lacks the soul and personality that draws us to a person’s artistry.
It is not surprising to see one YouTube comment branding it a “boring, bland and emotionless song”.
For both audiences and professionals, it is devastating to see music move away from its core community values.
We do not just listen to the song and watch the music video, we engage in the artist’s back story, follow them on social media and go to live gigs.
For the artists themselves, creating music is an opportunity for collaboration and learning. Thankfully, AI cannot replace that.
Some industry professionals are utilising and applauding AI. It has the potential to continue the legacy of deceased artists, as seen in the Wurzel Me Up! video, where fans were pleased to see Adge Cutler back in the mix.
The Wurzels’ experiment with AI represents both a potential opportunity and a key threat for the music industry.
While it can appeal to audiences by relaunching big names of the past, ultimately it endangers the heart of the music scene and makes it even harder for new names to get their foot in the door.
This is an opinion piece from Lily Schofield, a recent languages graduate from the University of Bristol.
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Main image: The Wurzels / YouTube
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