How Artificial Intelligence and Music Are Coming Together in 2025

November 19, 2024 • Devin Partida

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It seems like AI is shaping nearly every aspect of life as it continues to develop. You’ve doubtlessly heard plenty about its applications in business and the sciences, but what about the arts? As it turns out, artificial intelligence and music already work together, and their connection is growing.

The thought of AI influencing art seems strange, but it’s happening all around you. From the streaming services you use to music sales to even composing, AI in music is everywhere. As technology keeps getting better, it will play an even more significant role in the music industry.

Here’s a closer look at how AI is shaping music, and where it can go from here.

Artificial Intelligence in Music Platforms

You may interact with musical AI every day without even realizing it. Streaming apps like Spotify use machine learning to curate playlists and make recommendations for their users. Just like how YouTube and Google personalize results for individual users, these platforms do the same with music.

Machine learning algorithms analyze what you listen to get an idea of what kind of music you like. They can then make informed recommendations about new artists or songs to listen to. Some, like Spotify, even create custom playlists for you containing a mix of songs you might enjoy.

These AI applications help you find new, enjoyable music in an overwhelming sea of choices. They also help emerging artists gain listeners by suggesting their music to an audience that will likely enjoy them. Everyone, from listeners to artists to labels, benefits.

More recently, Spotify has begun testing an AI-powered playlist creator for users. AI Playlist combines machine learning’s ability to recognize similar songs with the interactive powers of generative AI. You can use the tool to describe a mood or situation and get a tailored playlist in return to fit the bill.

Amazon Music has a similar feature. The platform’s Maestro playlist generator uses AI to build custom soundtracks based on user prompts, even when these inputs are nothing more than an emoji.

Artificial Intelligence Making Music

Artificial intelligence’s involvement in music doesn’t end with distribution but goes a step further. You can find examples of AI in the music-making process, and this practice may be older than you realize. Alan Turing built a machine that generated melodies way back in 1951.

Music-making AI has come a long way since the days of Alan Turing, too. AI programs can analyze the different elements of preexisting songs, in a sense, learning basic music theory. These systems can then try to create original compositions based on the commonalities they’ve noticed.

Right now, AI music isn’t writing any hits, but some artists use it as part of their songwriting process. Musicians like David Bowie and Muse’s Matt Bellamy have experimented with using AI technologies in songwriting. As these technologies improve, AI-penned songs could become a widely-recognized genre.

Most music-making AI today revolves around streamlining the technical side of production for creators. YouTube is now testing an AI remix feature for people to fit popular songs into a particular vibe for their YouTube Shorts. The latest versions of Apple’s Logic Pro offer a suite of AI tools to provide backing tracks, optimize tone levels, clean up sampled audio and more.

The Controversy Around AI in Music

As with many AI applications, the intersection of artificial intelligence and music carries some controversy. On the surface, a tool for making music more accessible to people seems like a great idea for the creative community. On the other hand, though, the technology raises copyright concerns and could endanger the livelihood of artists who already struggle to make money in a competitive industry.

Generative AI works by recognizing patterns in data — in this case, analyzing existing songs — and applying those patterns to new situations to “create” content. Consequently, you can argue that anything it produces isn’t an original work but, rather, a repackaging of art someone else made. Further complicating these copyright concerns is the fact that AI training often occurs without the original artists’ knowledge or consent.

The big fear here is that companies can put out effortless, AI-generated music that steals from artists who may not get any recognition for their own work. Businesses would then profit while the music industry gets increasingly crowded, making it harder for artists putting more time and effort into their songs to reach an audience.

The Future of Musical AI

AI is expanding the horizons of what’s possible in many areas, and the same could be true in music. Artificial intelligence could become a standard tool in songwriting, like how computers and digitization have shaped modern music.

On the other hand, AI in music could threaten human-made art and those who depend on it for their livelihoods. It all depends on how the technology progresses, how people use it and if any regulations emerge to ensure its fair use.

Apple and Warner Music Group have both bought tech start-ups to improve how they discover new talent. AI algorithms could highlight promising acts for labels to sign, automating much of a slow and expensive process. With more time and advanced tech, this could become an industry standard.

AI likely won’t replace humans in music, especially given how significant a role emotional connections play in it. Still, AI could change the way people make and listen to music. Given the nature of AI, we’ve likely only scratched the surface of what it can do in this industry.

AI Is Changing Everything, Even Music

It’s becoming clear that few things will remain untouched by AI in the future. While it may not solve every problem, its potential is too vast for any industry to ignore. Even the arts, like music, can benefit from artificial intelligence.

AI has already changed modern music, and will likely continue to do so. However unlikely it may seem, AI and music are coming together.

Original publish date 2/1/2021 — Updated 11/18/2024

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