In the ever-evolving music industry, Grimes, the Canadian artist known for pushing boundaries, has once again sparked conversation with her thoughts on AI in music.
Key highlights:
- Grimes uses AI as a sample generator, enhancing creative control in music production.
- AI tools complement human-written lyrics, opening new possibilities for musical expression.
- Grimes sees AI art as a potential mental health tool for hobbyists, not replacing professional artists.
Grimes’ perspective on AI in Art
Grimes recently shared her perspective on AI in music, and it’s clear she’s given it a lot of thought. “I think we should fight for the specialness of humans, but I think there’s a lot of room for AI in art,” she says. This balanced view doesn’t pit humans against machines but instead looks at how they might work together.
She’s quick to point out that AI-generated music on its own often falls short. “I haven’t ever heard an AI music generation that is good on its own,” Grimes admits. Instead, she’s found a clever way to use AI in her work. Rather than relying on it to write entire songs, she uses it as “basically a sample generator,” allowing her to stay in control of her creative process while expanding her musical palette.
Benefits of Integrating AI in Artistic Processes:
One of the most interesting things about Grimes’ use of AI in the music industry is how it complements her songwriting, particularly through the innovative application of the Grimes AI voice. She’s found that AI tools work particularly well with human-written lyrics, “especially those that might be considered too wordy to fit into a pop context.” This combination of human creativity and AI capabilities opens up new possibilities for musical expression.
Grimes also highlights how AI art tools are making creativity more accessible. She shares stories of friends discovering a new passion through AI art platforms, saying, “It’s so beautiful to see like a tired mom friend get the art high for the first time and open part of her soul she’s never had access to.”
Grimes on the future of AI in creativity
While Grimes is excited about AI’s potential, she’s not blind to the concerns surrounding its use in art. She acknowledges that there’s been some pushback against AI art but suggests that this reaction might actually serve a purpose. “While the moral outrage feels a bit uninformed, I think it is serving the purpose of keeping AI art as mostly a mental health thing for people who aren’t profiting off it,” she explains.
Interestingly, Grimes points out that most AI artists are hobbyists rather than professionals. She sees this as a positive trend, suggesting that AI art could be a form of self-expression or even a mental health tool for people who aren’t trying to make money from it.
Looking to the future of AI in music
Looking ahead, Grimes sees AI art as potentially creating entirely new forms of creative expression. She mentions projects that feel like “a new branch of philosophy” rather than a replacement for existing art forms.
Perhaps most importantly, Grimes believes that the AI art debate has reminded us of the value of genuine human creativity. “Honesty, genuine care, talent, practice, and intentionality in art really does matter to us after all,” she concludes, adding, “I think it’s pretty beautiful that this whole saga is reminding the whole world that art matters.”
Grimes’ journey into AI music:
Grimes has been exploring AI in music for a while now. In May 2023, she made headlines by offering to split royalties with anyone using her Grimes AI voice in their songs. This bold move led to the launch of Elf.Tech, an open-source AI voice software. Elf.Tech allows artists to transform their vocals into a ‘GrimesAI-1 voiceprint’, giving creators a new way to interact with her unique sound. The platform shares revenue, with users splitting royalties equally with Grimes for songs using her AI voice.
But Elf.Tech is just the beginning. It’s a prototype for Triniti, a more comprehensive AI-powered platform developed by CreateSafe, co-founded by Grimes’ manager. Triniti offers features like AI voice cloning, text-to-audio sample generation, and music rights management.
The impact of Grimes’ AI ventures has been significant. Within days of Elf.Tech’s launch, over 15,000 people had used the platform. More than 300 songs featuring the AI-generated Grimes voice were submitted to streaming services.
Grimes sees these AI projects as a way to make music creation more accessible and ensure fair pay for artists. “For us, the first step is actually figuring out how to remove friction from the process of getting resources into artists’ hands,” she states, showing her commitment to shaping the future of AI in music.
As the conversation around AI in music continues to evolve, Grimes’ perspective offers a thoughtful view of how technology and human creativity can work together in the music industry. As she puts it, “Someone said to me once that music is sex, and when I write to seduce myself or others I make better stuff. There’s something really human about art.”
