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my latest article for my music blog Fourth Best looks into the case of an artist that's putting out AI music and is taking the work very seriously. they prides themself in only using AI for the music making process and doing all of the marketing, graphics, video etc. himself. I don't feel good about it.
my recommendation for the day besides reading my post is to find opportunities to fit into a crew. you don't have to be a musician to have an impact on the music community if you've got writing, design, organising skills - it's true of most creative worlds. I don't think that like, everyone who makes bad genai music is going to transition to music journalism or whatever and feel good about it, but there's joy in being a background character sometimes. share the spotlight.
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been thinking about this a lot within the context of the industry I work in recently. specifically about how the current music industry, especially in the case of streaming, has commoditized music into being essentially worthless in and of itself. a song in a vacuum has no value if it isn’t attached to the “brand” of the artist, which becomes a platform to sell merch, concerts, generate content, and all the other activities that actually generate money for the artist (and label). there is licensing revenue, but even then that’s assigning value to the right to exploit revenue from the song, not the art itself.
reading this book that takes place in the early 1800s and it mentions how music used to be just something that people did for themselves in their own homes, writing their own songs or purchasing sheet music to perform others’ songs. musicianship used to be a socially binding activity, as you would play for the gratification of those in your community. in most cases tho people performed for their and their immediate circle’s own satisfaction, and there was no pressure to turn it into a product. today it’s like people who want to be good at music have to attempt to be a professional to justify spending the time that isn’t generating money for them, squeezing it between their day jobs. if you want your music to be heard by others you have to heavily market yourself to vie for attention among the endless others on streaming platforms. there’s few places if any where people can come together and perform music themselves for any reason other than their own edification, and we’ve lost any social practices that encouraged everyone to have some form of musicianship to be able to participate in these kinds of events. it’s like something that was as common as riding a bike back in the day has been discredited as a socially valuable skill as it became unprofitable, same for dancing I suppose.
anyway, not really going anywhere with this, just hoping for a future world where all this AI coming up becomes something that alleviates the need for work and frees people up for art and community instead of becoming a competing force churning out music as a commodified product and drowning out the humans who produce at a human pace. the pessimist in me feels like the pressures of capitalism will mean that the opposite will happen, and AI will create the art so that the people have more time to dedicate to producing “value”
Mar 17, 2024
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Throughout my whole life, I had awful music teachers. I had a piano teacher that made me sit on my hands because he was frustrated with the way I played scales and a music teacher in primary/middle school that gave me so many anxiety attacks that my doctor finally gave me a note so I didn’t have to go anymore.
I was told so many times throughout my life that I had no music talent, discouraged from going further than scales but all of those people (teachers!!!!) were wrong. They just couldnt fathom that I had a different musical brain than them.
When I was 23, I ended up having to move back home from LA after my job rescinded their promise to sponsor me for a visa. I was depressed and heartbroken and lonely. I went to school for writing but didn’t want to write anymore so I ended up opening GarageBand on my iPad.
I was inspired by all the things I could do on it. I suddenly felt like I was entering a new world. After making a couple beats, I started moving everything over to the laptop version of GarageBand. I bought big headphones, a cheap usb mic and a keyboard off of a guy from Craigslist and continued to tinker. One of my favorite things to do at the time was to download karaoke midi tracks of popular songs I loved, import them into GarageBand and change the instrument until I felt like I was making something new. I would then use my shitty mic to wail on top of it.
I used GarageBand for years after that to make tons of songs that I just uploaded to SoundCloud without thinking about it much. Eventually I got a controller/sampler and access to Ableton and thats when the fun really started.
My love for music making snowballed after that, I amassed more gear and skill and eventually made an album after a couple years. I was obsessed with making it and while I feel really whatever about it now, I don’t feel whatever about the experience.
Music has allowed me space to express parts of me that there are no words for. The best thing I can impart is to take advantage of this. There are some things that you can only explain with a kick drum or a sine wave or a really hard bassline.
Music is still a huge part of me! I made another album after that first and now I’m working on my next project. I recently reincarnated myself (everyone in the ~industry~ advised against this but I’m a different person now) and I’m excited to see what’s in store for me. I don’t expect to make money or become famous but music feeds my soul in a way nothing else can.
Have fun!!
May 4, 2024
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got hit with a wave of nostalgia yesterday by going through all the photos and reviews i did for my college radio station. i used to spend hours researching bands and artists i’m interviewing, and in return became friends with some of them over the years, and really fell in love with music.
i love my day job working as a PR agent right now but, it’s really disheartening to see news coverage that is simply a copy+paste, a review done without actual dissection and overly harsh INACCURATE descriptions, interview questions recycled over and over again, it’s just so sad. and hence i listen to less new music now (and i’m also sad about it)
with the news of pitchfork this week i remember how i briefly considered going fully freelance as a journalist last year and sadly, that would not have been sustainable and it really should!! my heart is always with my journo friends, best of luck out there, appreciate your hard work and dedication!!
Jan 19, 2024
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the simplicity of exploring around on Google Earth meets the infinity of local radio from every single pocket of the globe. the thrill of the hunt and the joy of just hanging out. it doesn't get better than this folks
Dec 4, 2024
it's only like 11°C outside in Dublin right now but the sensation of sunlight helps to elevate the cruel existence of Computer Work. so, fuck it! balcony season! allowing the Macbook to experience its true natural habitat of Somewhere That Isn't My Desk has made me a bit more appreciative of its possibilities. last summer I took the idea to its logical end point and brought my cheap usb dj controller out on the balcony with me, recording DJ sets for nobody in particular on my headphones as the sun sets. those days approach once more. now if only I could solve the glare problem
2d ago
Jan 7, 2025