The Chic musician weighs in on the controversial artificial intelligence-generated music, insisting having AI in music industry could be the beginning of 'something wonderful.'
- Jun 14, 2023
AceShowbiz - Nile Rodgers believes artificial intelligence in music could be "something wonderful." The Chic guitarist has given his two cents on the debate about the future of AI in songwriting, and he admitted while there will be "a lot of controversy" as the technology "becomes viable," he sees some advantages.
"Just like at the Academy Awards there is animation and there is real-life, there's documentaries. Right now we have to let the cards fall where they may because you can't tell an artist, 'You can't paint with that colour'. You just can't do that," he told the Daily Star newspaper's Wired column.
"You have to let artists figure out what's right and I believe that we all inherently know right from wrong and we will figure it out - this is right, this wrong. In a weird way I think it's a big deal out of nothing, but it maybe something wonderful."
The 70-year-old musician pointed to the way people reacted to the emergence of drum machines, computers and samplers, but he sees them as "wonderful tools." He added, "I hear people talking about fake stuff. That sounds like noise to me. That sounds like the noise we've been hearing all our lives."
"The drum machine and sequencer have been wonderful tools. There are bands that could never have had a record if it wasn't for a sequencer. If we want to have a really relevant conversation, let's talk about songwriters getting paid."
Meanwhile, he pointed to his late collaborator Avicii as someone who used technology to help him create his art in the best possible way. He explained, "He would write the most beautiful songs without knowing what he was doing - his ear was telling him what to do. How could he do it? Because he had gear. His gear allowed him to do that."
