Deepfakes

Last year I had a guest in my songwriting class who was incredibly animated and inspiring about creativity. I never saw my covid-era students smile so much through a screen. So much so that I had the guest back the following semester. 

This time he talked about AI and how it had the potential to replace songwriters. The kids weren’t smiling. They pushed back. He pushed harder. The next day 2 kids dropped the class. :( 

I was bummed. But now I think I need to have him back. Toothpaste out of the tube. How do we co-exist?

I listened to the Drake/Weeknd AI track “Heart on my Sleeve” on Youtube cuz Universal yanked it from the DSPs. Was that prudent or short sighted? Prolific blogger Bob “embrace the future” Lefsetz claims the latter. (He also thinks songwriters protest too much about not getting paid fairly.) In his newsletter,  he is “AI for AI” (All-In for AI) and argues that it’s part of progress and innovation — that calculators didn’t eliminate math…iPhones didn’t eliminate photography. We should “Go along for the ride or be left behind! You must disrupt yourself to survive. It's Napster redux.” 

Makes that best-seller we were all swearing by in the 90s —“Who Moved My Cheese, An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life,” seem laughable. 

No Bob. This is different. “If your voice is on something you didn’t write and you’re not endorsing that message it can be a really scary,” says Musician Reeny Smith. I concur. Not to mention forgoing approval from the artist that’s being scraped and profiting from an algorithm that is the artist’s unique style. 

I wouldn’t have known the Drake track was phony. While I’m a pretty good judge of what makes a good song I’m not as discerning about sonics. But one of my students who’s way more savvy in audio production said it was obvious and he had no interest in counterfeits. I was heartened to hear that. That said AI is going to get even more convincing even for the savvy. 

First it was news. Alternative facts. We’re losing our grasp on reality.

I imagine that moving forward, students will be turning in songs that are 100% Tech generated and I’ll have no clue. 😵‍💫 But even if they limit its use to a creative tool, isn’t it still essential that a songwriting student learn how to write an effective song? 

I’ve been in denial about AI just as I was about Napster. And Covid. And growing up. But they all happened anyway. On the brighter side, I’ve read about how it can benefit us (especially in the medical space) and make tasking easier, gather information like Google on steroids. I’ve started noticing the influx of AI generated email. They’re too perfectly crafted. No adorable imperfections. 

We call it “artificial” for a reason. Should we accept artificial love? Artificial nutrition? ‘Artificial everything’ until humans are rendered obsolete? 

How do you make a deep fake? “Easy,” says AI flag-waver Roberto Nickson. “I record a verse, and have a trained AI model replace my vocals.” Simple as that.

Drake isn’t amused — called “Heart on my Sleeve” “the final straw,” but not every artist is angry. Liam Gallagher says the AI versions of himself sounds “mega.” There’ll always be those who don’t push back for fear of looking like Bob said…left behind! And “mega”? The choice of adjective should tell us something.   

I signed on to the Human Artistry Campaign which states: 

“as new technologies emerge and enter such central aspects of our existence, it must be done responsibly and with respect for the irreplaceable artists, performers, and creatives who have shaped our history and will chart the next chapters of human experience.”

Will it make a difference or go down in history as a well-meaning ambitious effort like the Fair Trade coffee stamp? I signed it anyway. You can too. 

A day or so after that Lefsetz column, I got his subsequent ‘mailbag’ newsletter with responses from his readers. Not surprising, many were like “Preach Bob!” “Right on, Bob.” Music Exec Mike Caren compared the disruption of AI to the launch of drum machines and sampling, Herbie Hancock breaking the rules and using synths in jazz. Seriously? 

Bob says that if AI created a new Beatles song, and people want to listen to it and the Beatles get paid...what is wrong with that? 

A lot!*

Hear my colleague Dan Navarro’s response to Bob. I can’t say it any better. 

It's not Napster redux, but it's an effective opening line. You say lots of accurate things and some that miss the point. Copping people's voices without their approval or compensation is just plain wrong, against copyright and right of publicity precedent. Laws upon which a living depends.

Can we stop the technology? Nope, and we're not trying. As you say, it's never worked, and never will. I get it. Can AI be of help to creatives? Of course.

But should a streaming service be able to post something that is not what it says it is, whether it is created by AI or by real people using old school real techniques? I don’t think so. 

And is the stuff that AI is creating right now actually pretty bad? Pretty much, everything I've heard. Low common denominator brown food product, devoid of flavor, ultimately unsatisfying. Might not always be that way.

Your licensing concept makes a certain sense on paper, co-opt it, don’t try to kill it. But, when it's a voice or a likeness, what if the AI entity says something in a way the scraped artist doesn’t like, libelous, slanderous, or simply unbecoming? Or is it in violation of an exclusive contract? Don’t  they have some say in what goes out under their name? Especially when they had eff-all to do with its creation other than to exist?

Can I make a fake Lefsetz Letter, pass it off as you (not as a cop or a parody or satire) and say a ton of really bad inhuman off-the-charts uglyuglyugly baaaaad stuff? But, hey man, it burnishes your brand, you're worthy of being imitated, people really like you. Sorry, buddy, it's wrong, and if I did it, I would deserve to be sued by you, and shut down. Hard.

Should labels have AI departments? Of course. Does AI music have a place in the market? See my brown food product statement above. Will these end runs keep happening. Or course. We're looking at the wild west until some true actionable guidelines are laid down by the USCO, or the CRB, or some other detested government agency.

But back in the earliest days of sampling, sampled songs and records weren’t being credited or compensated. Now they are. The same thing applies here. Get permission, get a license, give credit, and PAY US.

Drake and The Weeknd, or Eminen, they had no say in their voices being scraped, and that ain't right. There was no disclaimer, no "in the style of", just the letters "AI" in parentheses. And the reason people are doing it is because they can. Or they might profit from the use of something someone else owns. Not right.

What if there was a technology that allowed me to copy your house key just by pointing a beam at your front door. What if I just wanted to see if could do it, give copies to my friends, be a big shot. And what if one of my friends actually used it. That one is easy, right? There's no reason why this one should be hard.

We're not going to kill the tech, we don’t want to. I ain't afraid of the future, we've had this conversation before. It wouldn’t work anyway. But I will fight for the rights of artists to not allow their work to be copied, deployed and monetized without permission and compensation. To fight for free speech while prohibiting screaming "fire" in a crowded theatre.  

Responsible, actionable guidelines. Not the wild west. That's what I believe.

Dan Navarro

Thanks for the re-print permission, Dan.

*PS: Paul might be cool with an AI Beatle song but sadly we’ll never know how John would feel. One could also argue that nobody asked for John’s permission to re-address and make a sound recording of “Free As A Bird.” Juss sayin’ 😳

And now, on a lighter note and — (speaking of the Beatles) — in response to my view that “artists shouldn’t bother remaking the iconic songs unless they can come at it with a compelling and fresh approach,” my pal Glen Burtnik if The Weeklings sent me this. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Thanks for reading my weekly musings. If you'd like to subscribe to my blog please click here. Listen to my album 2.0 etc… Get a signed CD or a copy of “Confessions of a Serial Songwriter.” And here’s my Serial Songwriter Facebook Page! Amen.