Have you ever wished there was some magic you could conjure to get over writer’s block? We’ve likely all been there at some point. While we might not know the secret to mystical powers, we do have a pretty amazing tool that works sort of like magic.
Meet ChatGPT, the wildly popular chatbot that’s helping writers, musicians, and creators around the world make their own magic happen faster.
Now, we know what you’re thinking. AI-written music? Isn’t that cheating? Maybe. It all depends on how you use it. Although there are a lot of interesting discussions surrounding artificial intelligence at the moment, we like to be optimists.
Our goal is to use AI as an optimization tool, not a replacement for human invention. While there are likely to be many challenges ahead with the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, there are many benefits we stand to gain as well.
Like it or not, AI is here to stay, and we prefer to see that as a good thing. Using it, musicians can start writing their songs faster, and uncover new layers of their imagination with the help of an algorithm-driven assistant.
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a chatbot that was launched in November 2022 by a company called OpenAI.
Until now, we’ve mostly experienced AI in the form of generators that spit out some often silly ideas after being given a prompt. People were cautious to take AI too far, worrying about its impact on jobs and authenticity. Specifically, people have raised concerns over AI writing and artwork being deemed legitimate compared to content produced by humans.
It’s an understandable debate, one that you can likely discuss with the groundbreaking chatbot.
It engages users in natural dialogue that can help people improve their creative work through conversation. Right now, people are using ChatGPT to make their jobs a bit easier and less cumbersome.
Being a musician is a difficult job. We all know that dreaded feeling of writer’s block that’s not only frustrating but emotionally draining. By incorporating ChatGPT into the creative process, musicians may be able to fight off some of the mental struggles they face during the production process.
Musicians can use ChatGPT to:
- Answer questions about music making
- Explore inspiring subjects
- Ask for song ideas about different themes
- Generate writing prompts for lyrics
- Compose songs in various genres with notes and chords
Let’s say you’re mulling over the lyrics for your current song, and something just isn’t flowing. Rather than spend hours, days, or, let’s be honest, weeks figuring things out, you can ask ChatGPT to produce several variations of your song for you.
The end result allows you to compare versions of your own work, then choose one that ultimately captures the feeling you’re going for. This level of assisted creation can make it far easier for writers and musicians to reach their goals (and deadlines) with much less stress.
What can we expect between ChatGPT and music?
Language-based AI learns from the people it interacts with. The music industry has actually been ahead of the curve when it comes to this technology. Several solutions, like LyricStudio, have already helped music artists through assisted creation.
Rather than replace them outright, these solutions are a form of optimization, improvising business and creation in meaningful ways.
AI can already generate song lyrics written in a particular musician’s style. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, but not everyone thinks so. Nick Caves, frontman of the band Bad Seeds, was angered when fans started sending him copies of lyrics the chatbot generated with his own writing style as its prompt.
In his own words, Caves described the lyrics as “a travesty.” He went on to explain how music requires a human element to be music at all. Without limitations, challenges, and qualities that make us who we are, music lacks the soul we all connect to.
We agree that humans should always stay at the center of the creative process. That’s why we’ve been exploring ways AI can assist musicians rather than outright take over their jobs.
Composing With AI
When it comes to AI creativity, it’s best to think of it as a partner rather than a replacement for our own genius. The truth is that a lot of what AI says these days is off-beat and slightly too good to be true. In other words, relying entirely on artificial intelligence would leave you with music that, while objectively good, lacks the nuance that lends human-created music its wonder.
We’re far from any AI that can replace musicians. Besides, do we even want to create that, anyway? Today’s AI developers are more focused on helping people overcome writer’s block.
For example, Curtiss King released an AI-assisted album that rose to number one in the U.S. He used LyricStudio to achieve his “lightning in a bottle” moment. You know, that burst of creative expression that perfectly described how you were feeling.
The truth is that nothing Curtiss King produced is anything less than himself. Instead, the AI creation helped make his music composition more fluid. It lent a certain flow to his process that ultimately enabled him to capture and refine his creative vision more steadily.
Playlisting With AI
Who doesn’t love a good playlist? Good news: You can get new beat recommendations anytime with ChatGPT. Using the chatbot as an AI playlist maker is a fun way to explore its potential while broadening your musical tastes.
MusicRader wrote an entire piece outlining the potential use of an app called PlaylistAI, which generates full-fledged Spotify and Apple Music playlists based on a simple prompt. When we asked ChatGPT if it can make us a Spotify playlist, it said that because it’s a text-based application, it can’t do that (yet).
However, it can provide you song recommendations based on things like artist, genre, and mood. As ChatGPT evolves, we’ll likely see integrations with mainstream platforms that allow it to provide a more streamlined playlist experience.
In the meanwhile, you can still chat with the bot to discover some new jams to get you through next Monday.
Copyright and AI
Okay, now here’s the topic you’ve all been waiting for. AI creation sounds all well and good until you’re slapped with a lawsuit, right?
Can music artists even copyright songs that were partially written by a computer program?
Here’s the thing: AI is not a person, so nothing it creates can belong to it. It doesn’t own any of the art, music, or poems it conjures up. Behind all of its apparent genius, there are really just a bunch of complicated algorithms and galaxy-brain math formulas.
But what about the company who made the AI? Are they entitled to a cut of your profits if the song their software helped you create becomes a hit?
The law surrounding AI copyright is ambiguous at best; right now, society is facing a new dilemma that will take time to regulate.
According to AIMultiple, a tech analyst that specializes in artificial intelligence, AI-generated works are not eligible for copyright protection because they aren’t made by humans.
What does this mean for you? As long as you played a substantial role in creating the final product, your work still belongs to you.
This is why responsible AI use is so important; just copying and pasting generated content isn’t only lazy, it could rob you of your legal protection as an artist.
Reprtoir Is Here for You
No matter what your stance is on AI, we’re here to help you make your music career easier, no matter how your tracks have been composed. Reprtoir optimizes elements like royalty accounting, playlists, and catalog management, so you can focus on doing what you love.
