🔵 If AI isn't the war, what is?
Equally, is it time to accept that music as an industry is just too complex now?
Hi there,
In a week where I tried and failed, largely on a whim, to buy the MPC 60 formerly owned by John Martyn, I found myself contemplating something someone had said to me a little while ago.
I was discussing the general state of the music industry, and how it felt like too many trade bodies were arguing with one another (as well as being too great in number), such that no one was able to agree on anything so as to effect meaningful change.
Upon hearing this, the person I was chatting to paused and simply said “what you need is a war. It takes a war to bring these people together under a common cause”.
At the time, I simply nodded and didn’t give it much thought. However as I reflect on this remark, I found myself thinking the same thing: if AI and the march of Big Tech to essentially dismantle popular culture with the intent of owning it is not “the war”, then what is?
The remark came back to mind today reading the frankly idiotic remark made my Mustafa Suleyman - one of AI’s great minds and undoubtedly a Very Smart Person - in which he opined that anything on the internet is fair use, and that therefore there should be no issue at all with AI, or indeed any other tech, using that content for the purposes of learning from it and, ultimately, replacing it.
I don’t think we need to get into the merits (or lack thereof) of Suleyman’s comments. To me they are plainly ridiculous. However I would argue that when the head of AI at one of the largest tech companies on the planet - Microsoft - is saying this kind of thing, it speaks volumes as to the absolute antipathy these companies have towards art and culture.
I’ve remarked (too often, I fear) that we are at a point where trade associations need to stop issuing blithe statements about AI guidelines etc, and instead come together to speak with a unified voice that represents the music industry as a whole. I would argue all of the above speaks to that need. For me, this whole topic is the “war” that should be prompting this kind of action.
And yet, it does not and right now - for the most part anyway - it feels like the music industry might be undone by its own complex web of often opposing bodies, making divide and conquer tactics all too easy to achieve.
On the subject of the complexity of the music business, I couldn’t help but nod in agreement when reading this LinkedIn post from Inder Phull, CEO & Founder at Pixelynx (disclosure: Motive Unknown has worked with Pixelynx before and quite probably will do again).
In the post, Phull remarks that the industry is just too complicated now, and that half the reason AI marches forward with a “steal now and ask permission later” type of agenda is because it simply cannot navigate the complex rights management landscape the music industry has.
His description of the “an ancient design flaw that is losing relevance and control” brought to mind a similar line of argument as to why sites like MySpace eventually died. Put simply, those platforms were built with very inflexible core code that simply could not evolve to meet the needs of its user base. Ergo, when Facebook arrived, running far better code, everyone dumped MySpace with alarming speed and moved over, leaving the once dominant social network to become another footnote in history.
I wonder if Phull is correct, and that music’s own architecture has now become too unwieldy to be capable of responding to this ever-changing landscape.
Of course, incumbents will fight to the death to hold on to their fiefdom, but eventually it just slows down the inevitable change that the market needs.
To be clear, I don’t think what is going on with AI and music is the music industry’s fault. That narrative would be a gift to Big Tech. Equally though, I do look from this standpoint of mine and just wonder if the whole landscape for music has now become so complex and inflexible that it might well fall victim to other systems that can always out-manoeuvre it.
If that isn’t reason to consider this a war, such that all parties come to the table to discuss responses that might actually have impact, I don’t know what is.
Have a great evening,
D.
🎶 listening to “Space Out” by Rico Scott. My colleague Stone posted this in our Slack, merely stating “Dub house anyone?”. That wildly understates this banger of a track with a kick drum like Bonham himself is stamping on your head, and a low bassline and generally dubby groove that is nothing short of stellar. Take a listen and thank me later!
📺 watching “The ULTIMATE Harry Potter VR Experience! // Hogwarts Legacy VR (UEVR)” on YouTube. It was news to me that some fiercely clever people made a VR injector for Unreal Engine, which allows anyone with a VR headset and a (very) powerful PC to basically turn premium game titles into immersive first person experiences. Take a look at this Harry Potter one which basically puts you right into Hogwarts; it is absolutely stunning.
🤖 playing with Notebook LM from Google. Originally I didn’t quite get the use case for this, but it is fantastic for uploading up to 20 data sources and then querying with prompts. Genuinely really helpful; I just hope Google don’t ruin this like they do so many other Google products.
Stories from the Music Industry:
Deadmau5 threatens to pull his music catalogue from Spotify
He took to his Instagram to weigh in on Ek’s views. “Incorrect. The cost of creating content was 25+ years of my life and much of those proceeds going to your company you complete f***ing idiot,” wrote Zimmerman. He then went further in a reply to a fan commenting on the post. “I’m about to pull my catalog from these f***ing vultures. Enoughs enough.”
👆🏻Hot take: I’ve remarked in the past that it might take a major artist quitting Spotify to really kickstart more exits. Whether Deadmau5 is the artist to manage that is up for debate - and I note he has yet to pull the plug, which is…. telling.
Jesus and Mary Chain, Robert Fripp and more sue PRS for Music over concert royalties
The lawsuit – which PRS says it will “vigorously defend” – centres on live music licensing, whereby songwriters receive a royalty cut from ticket sales, with PRS taking their own cut of those royalties as an administration fee. The lawsuit alleges that PRS offers major songwriters “sweetheart” deals that end up being subsidised by smaller writers. Those writers, in turn, face prohibitive fees and administrative red tape if they want to withdraw their rights from PRS and instead directly license with promoters, venues and music festivals.
👆🏻Hot take: I would think PRS will be livid at this lawsuit, which (so far as I know anyway) represents the first real challenge upon the service it provides. Not something it can take lightly, that’s for sure, as the implications (and potential damage to them) is massive.
Microsoft's AI boss causes a stir with his 'fair use' views
Music rightsholders and their representative bodies aren’t going to be impressed at all with views expressed by Microsoft’s AI boss Mustafa Suleyman at a recent conference. He was asked whether ‘AI companies have effectively stolen the world’s IP’ and… well, this is what he said. “I think that with respect to content that’s already on the open web, the social contract of that content since the ‘90s has been that it is fair use. Anyone can copy it, recreate with it, reproduce with it. That has been ‘freeware,’ if you like, that’s been the understanding.”
👆🏻Hot take: Suleyman is a highly intelligent man, which makes this entirely ignorant comment all the more perplexing. If we needed more grist to the “Big Tech is entirely at odds with art and culture” mill then look no further…
Merck Mercuriadis to step down as Hipgnosis Song Management chairman
“As Hipgnosis Songs Fund enters the next phase of its development, now is the right time to hand the reins to a trusted and highly capable team. I am excited about the company’s future and its ongoing success with the support of Blackstone,” said Mercuriadis in his statement. He also offered a strong pointer to his next moves. “This is a timely opportunity for me to undertake a strategic shift of focus, and to spend more time advocating on behalf of songwriters to ensure that they are properly compensated for their work,” said Mercuriadis.
👆🏻Hot take: I’m curious to see what Merck does next, but I’m more fascinated by what might happen to catalogue now owned by Hipgnosis, not least because I recall a lot of the artists selling up making much of Merck being “their guy” and the man to steer that ship. Now he is exiting, could we start seeing far more awful uses of catalogue just to turn a buck?
TuneCore rolls out its AI-powered TuneCore Mastering product
This week distributor TuneCore has announced the launch of its own AI-powered mastering service. TuneCore Mastering uses a pay-per-use model, with artists paying $5 per track. They upload their unmastered track, process it and listen to a preview, then pay when they’re happy with the results before pushing the final version out to DSPs.
👆🏻Hot take: In 2021 I commented that it was odd that Landr and co were parking their tanks on the lawns of labels etc by offering distribution services without the latter doing the same in reciprocation. Cut to 2024 and Tunecore are now the second company to offer mastering (Distrokid being the other).
Notable stories from the world of tech:
Meta’s Threads hits 175 million users one year after launch
As with any social network, and especially for Threads, monthly users only tell part of the growth story. It’s telling that, unlike Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, Meta hasn’t shared daily user numbers yet. That omission suggests Threads is still getting a lot of flyby traffic from people who have yet to become regular users.
👆🏻Hot take: I’m quite surprised by this stat (though I share the same suspicion around daily active use). On some level I see it more as testament to how bad X has become than how compelling Threads has become.
Instagram is starting to let some creators make AI versions of themselves
Instagram’s new “AI Studio” will let creators make AI chatbot versions of themselves, and Meta is starting to roll it out as an “early test” in the US, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on his broadcast channel on Thursday. As part of the test, “you might start seeing AIs from your favorite creators and interest-based AIs in the coming weeks on Instagram,” according to Zuckerberg. “These will primarily show up in messaging for now, and will be clearly labeled as AI.”
👆🏻Hot take: I could see this being appealing to burned-out social media influencers, but the devil is in the detail here. What is the AI actually doing - just creating a visual representation of the creator? Or is it creating their content too? Only that all makes a critical difference as to how much people buy in.
YouTube confirms it'll pull AI fakes if you complain
Complaints are moderated by humans and, if upheld, the uploader will have 48 hours to remove the video entirely or edit out the part(s) that violate the privacy guidelines – either through trimming or blurring. If the deadline expires without action by the uploader, YouTube will yank the offending content.
👆🏻Hot take: honestly it’s just good to see anyone delivering clear guidelines as to how deepfakes etc will be handled. This is the red tape that we need to ensure there’s some rails on the management of all things AI-generated.
Looking for something else to read? Here you go:
Should We Be Eating Three Meals a Day?
The idea that we should eat three meals a day is surprisingly modern. How many meals a day is best for our health?
👆🏻Hot take: it would appear the answer might be ‘no’. A fascinating read though - have a look.
I Live Sweat But I Dream Light Years: Minutemen’s Double Nickels On The Dime at 40
Stewart Smith celebrates working-class creativity, James Joyce, free jazz, hardcore punk, anti-imperialism, and all of the other ingredients that went into Minutemen's double classic
👆🏻Hot take: I love this album and I love this band, so this fine article is a wonderful reminder of just how great Minutemen were.