Artificial intelligence won’t stop musicians from winning Grammys

Using AI to create music won’t stop artists from winning the prestigious Grammy Music Awards. This was announced by Harvey Mason Jr., head of the organization The Recording Academywhich annually presents awards to the best performers.

Earlier this month The Recording Academy updated admission criteria to the award, specifying that only live human musicians can be nominated for a Grammy. However, later Mason explained that artists who use AI to create songs can still qualify for awards. However, specific parts of their music created using artificial generation will not be recognized in certain categories of the nomination.

For example, if AI is used to generate an artificial voice for the lead vocal of a track, then the composition may be eligible for the art song category, but not for the performance category. And if a person performs a song himself, and AI is used to write lyrics or a background track, then the song will not be admitted to the composition or art song category, although it can be considered for a nomination in the performance category.

“As long as a person contributes to more than a minimal degree, which is key to us, they will always be considered for a nomination or a win,” Mason told reporters. “We don’t want to see new technology crowd out human creativity. We want to make sure that it only enhances, embellishes or complements it.”

The rule change came as some musicians began to very often resort to the help of artificial intelligence to create music, and even publicly declare this to the general public. Many fans, and even just “colleagues” do not approve of such “unsportsmanlike behavior” in the music industry, because AI greatly facilitates the process of music production and often devalues ​​the contribution of the artist himself.

On the other hand, AI opens up other horizons for creativity, which will be hard to argue with. So, recently Paul McCartney, who turned 81 last month, revealed that the upcoming Beatles track will contain an artificial intelligence-generated vocal part that completely copies the voice of the late John Lennon. This gives the band’s fans the opportunity to hear music that is no longer available in any other way.

Meanwhile, Australian singer-songwriter Nick Cave stated the following: “ChatGPT can write a speech or an essay, a sermon or an obituary, but he can’t write a real song.” Such a position can be argued with by the nickname “ghostwriter”, who a few months ago created and published on streaming platforms the track “Heart On My Sleeve”, which used generated vocals that copy the voices of Canadian artists Drake and The Weeknd. The track quickly went viral, but was removed from most platforms. Universal Music Group label (UMG) criticized the creator of the song for trying to cash in on the talent of the musicians.

Other artists, on the contrary, support the idea of ​​copying their voices. For example, Grimes, a Canadian electronic pop artist, has stated that she would love to share royalty 50 to 50 with those who use AI to copy her voice in the creation of new tracks.