Skip to content
The AI Musicpreneur
The AI Musicpreneur
  • News
    • Music News
    • Tool News
  • AI Music Hub
    • ↳ Create AI Music Videos
  • AI Tools
    • All AI tools
    • ↳ AI mixing & mastering
    • ↳ AI music generators
    • ↳ AI music video generators
    • ↳ AI stem splitter
    • ↳ AI voice cloning
    • ↳ AI VST plugin
    • ↳ AI music FAQ
  • Music Promotion
    • The AI fanbase builder (Course + Prompts)
    • ↳ How to promote your music in 2025!
    • ↳ Write an artist bio with AI
    • ↳ Write a press release
  • Work With Me
    • Book Me As a Speaker
    • Promote Your AI Tool
    • About Me
  • News
    • Music News
    • Tool News
  • AI Music Hub
    • ↳ Create AI Music Videos
  • AI Tools
    • All AI tools
    • ↳ AI mixing & mastering
    • ↳ AI music generators
    • ↳ AI music video generators
    • ↳ AI stem splitter
    • ↳ AI voice cloning
    • ↳ AI VST plugin
    • ↳ AI music FAQ
  • Music Promotion
    • The AI fanbase builder (Course + Prompts)
    • ↳ How to promote your music in 2025!
    • ↳ Write an artist bio with AI
    • ↳ Write a press release
  • Work With Me
    • Book Me As a Speaker
    • Promote Your AI Tool
    • About Me
FREE PROMPTS

Can AI replace Great Big Sea? The case of autotuned folk songs

  • March 5, 2024
  • Picture of Christopher Wieduwilt - The AI Musicpreneur Christopher Wieduwilt - The AI Musicpreneur
I built a FREE AI prompt library that big labels & major artists are using
The AI Musicpreneur
✓ TikTok video scripts that get attention

✓ Press releases that get featured
✓ Newsletters fans actually read
✓ Bios that 3x profile clicks

Steal the prompts 1,400+ artists use to reclaim 15+ hours / week.

Read by industry leaders:

The AI Musicpreneur
I created a FREE 5-day email course that 1,400+ artists use to get fans who pay, not just play.
The AI Musicpreneur

What you’ll learn:
✓ Day 1: Define your USP
✓ Day 2: Create a song release strategy
✓ Day 3: Turn content ideas into videos
✓ Day 4: Win email subscribers with freebies
✓ Day 5: Turn them into fans that pay, not just play

Get the exact system that helps artists build careers they can live on.

Read by industry leaders:

The AI Musicpreneur
Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:
  1. The AI Fanbase Builder: My flagship course and prompt library endorsed by music industry leaders. The AI Fanbase Builder teaches you step-by-step frameworks for growing your audience, getting noticed on social media, and turning followers into paying fans. Come learn proven strategies to build a thriving music career with AI.
  2. AI Music Newsletter: Join 2,000+ music professionals who use my proven AI tools, prompts, and workflows. Subscribers save 10+ hours weekly on music creation and promotion tasks that used to take days.
  3. Promote your AI tool to 2,000+ music pros weekly: Put your music brand in my newsletter where musicians, producers and industry pros, including Grammy winners and label executives, are already looking for AI music tools and insights each Wednesday.

Trusted by industry leaders:

The AI Musicpreneur
4 AI music tools you need to know:

Get quality mixing & mastering in 1 place → RoEx 

Create music videos in seconds → Neural Frames.

Separate stems easily. 15% off with “aimusicpreneur” →  Lalal.ai

Create viral shorts in seconds. 10% off with “AIMUSIC10″→ Submagic.

The AI Musicpreneur
Great Big Sea band
When AI tools tried mimicking Great Big Sea, founder Bob Hallett scoffed at the "strange" results. But as algorithms evolve at astonishing pace, narrowing the human-machine musical divide, musicians must sharpen strategies to enrapture hearts technology may replicate but never truly replace.

For over 20 years, the Canadian folk-rock band Great Big Sea has been filling the boots of Newfoundlanders and music lovers alike with their signature blend of Irish and Celtic sounds. But now, artificial intelligence may be threatening to tread on their turf.

✓ Bob Hallett of Great Big Sea dismissed AI mimicry of their style, scoring computer songs a measly 2/10.

Everything you need to know

✓ Bob Hallett of Great Big Sea dismissed AI mimicry of their style, scoring computer songs a measly 2/10.

✓ AI currently lacks humanity but is progressing rapidly through immense training data.

✓ Musicians foresee a future blending human feeling with tech, if authenticity remains.

Bob Hallett is not impressed with AI

When AI song generating tools like Suno were used to craft tracks attempting to mimic the Great Big Sea style, founding member Bob Hallett wasn’t overly impressed. Giving the computer-made songs a score of just two out of ten, he noted that aspects like the lyrics and instrumentation felt “strange” compared to the band’s usual high quality.

On the surface, this may seem like yet another case of AI failing to live up to the artistry of humans. But as Jimmy Lin, director of the University of Waterloo’s AI institute explains, we shouldn’t be too quick to judge. The machine-learning algorithms behind tools like Suno are advancing at a rapid pace, constantly improving based on the massive datasets used to “train” them.

In simple terms, AI systems learn by recognizing patterns in existing examples. The more music an algorithm is exposed to, the better it can emulate different styles when prompted. So while early attempts at recreating Great Big Sea may have missed the mark, with sufficient data these programs could eventually master their Celtic folk sound.

Great Big Sea comments on limitations of AI music

Bob Hallett of Great Big sea comments on AI trying to mimic the style of his band.
©David Howells 2012 www.davehowellsphoto.com

Of course, there are still limitations. As Bob Hallett noted, AI lacks the human qualities of sincerity and real emotion that draw listeners in. Machines can replicate technical musical aspects like drum patterns or vocal melodies, but soul remains uniquely human.

Another challenge is avoiding legal grey areas around copying artists without consent. Companies using huge troves of existing songs to fuel their AI face potential copyright issues down the line, as Microsoft recently learned when sued over training ChatGPT on New York Times articles.

Yet for the time being, music makers like Hallett remain philosophical about AI’s role. As platforms like YouTube have squeezed artist revenues, technology was already disrupting industries. And he sees potential benefits, like AI generating personalized jingles for ads targeting niche audiences.

Overall, while computers continue advancing, Hallett believes people will always crave real connections with artists expressing authentic feelings through music. As AI systems evolve, the divide between human and machine-made tracks may narrow – but our preference for sincerity ensures a Great Big Sea will still have plenty of waves to sail on.

AI in music: Evolution or echo of authenticity?

The debate raises thought-provoking questions. On one hand, AI offers new creative avenues when guided by humans. Yet over-reliance on algorithms could diminish art forms if they replace heartfelt human perspectives. Perhaps the ideal future involves balances of both.

Musicians adapting smartly to change endured for centuries. So as technology transforms how albums reach fans, crafting moves people remains the surest stay for bands seeking long voyages. Whether AI poses storms or calms oceans ahead depends on navigating progress judiciously, making sure humans chart courses computers never could.

While AI is rapidly improving at music generation, authentic human emotion remains difficult for machines to replicate genuinely. But as technology evolves, finding balanced roles leveraging both AI and human qualities could keep musical arts sailing smoothly into new eras.

Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

  1. The AI Fanbase Builder: My flagship course and prompt library endorsed by music industry leaders. The AI Fanbase Builder teaches you step-by-step frameworks for growing your audience, getting noticed on social media, and turning followers into paying fans. Come learn proven strategies to build a thriving music career with AI.
  2. AI Music Newsletter: Join 2,000+ music professionals who use my proven AI tools, prompts, and workflows. Subscribers save 10+ hours weekly on music creation and promotion tasks that used to take days.
  3. Promote your AI tool to 2,000+ music pros weekly: Put your music brand in my newsletter where musicians, producers and industry pros, including Grammy winners and label executives, are already looking for AI music tools and insights each Wednesday.
Previous
Next
author avatar
Christopher Wieduwilt - The AI Musicpreneur Founder, Content Creator
Christopher Wieduwilt, founder of the AI Musicpreneur, combines 15 years of music industry experience with AI expertise to empower artists. Having navigated the highs and lows himself, Christopher now shares AI music tools and strategies to help artists create, promote, and grow their fanbase. His mission is to guide musicians in winning 1,000 true fans in the AI era.
See Full Bio
Music Promotion AI music promotion AI stem separation AI mastering AI music generators
social network icon social network icon
Share the Post:

Related Posts

The AI Musicpreneur

Splice launches 3 GenAI tools (Variations, Craft, Magic Fit) that modify human-made samples. Sample creators get paid per source use and per AI variation downloaded.

Splice’s new GenAI tools modify human-made samples and pay creators per download, but the platform hasn’t addressed whether creators consented.

Read More
The AI Musicpreneur

Drum machines, Auto-Tune, and AI: 3 times musicians declared music was over (and what happened next)

Musicians tried to ban drum machines in 1982, called Auto-Tune cheating in 1998, and now fear AI in 2026. Each panic birthed new genres instead of killing music.

Read More
The AI Musicpreneur

I built a free AI prompt library that big labels & major artists are using.

✓ TikTok video scripts that get attention
✓ Press releases that get featured
✓ Newsletters fans actually read
✓ Bios that 3x profile clicks

Steal the prompts 2,000+ artists use to reclaim 15+ hours / week.

Read by industry leaders:

The AI Musicpreneur
The AI Musicpreneur

Follow me

Tiktok
Linkedin

Best AI TOOLs

  • AI mastering tools
  • AI music generators
  • AI music video generators
  • AI stem separation
  • AI voice cloning
  • AI mastering tools
  • AI music generators
  • AI music video generators
  • AI stem separation
  • AI voice cloning

Promotion

  • Course + Prompts: AI fanbase builder
  • Prompts: AI fanbase builder
  • Guide: AI music promotion
  • Guide: Write a press release
  • Guide: Write an artist bio
  • Course + Prompts: AI fanbase builder
  • Prompts: AI fanbase builder
  • Guide: AI music promotion
  • Guide: Write a press release
  • Guide: Write an artist bio

LEGAL

  • Impressum
  • Cookie Policy (EU)
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise here
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
  • Opt-out preferences
  • Cookie Policy (CA)
  • Cookie Policy (AU)
  • Cookie Policy (ZA)
  • Cookie Policy (BR)
  • Impressum
  • Cookie Policy (EU)
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise here
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
  • Opt-out preferences
  • Cookie Policy (CA)
  • Cookie Policy (AU)
  • Cookie Policy (ZA)
  • Cookie Policy (BR)

© The AI Musicpreneur 2026

Manage your privacy
We use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. We do this to improve browsing experience and to show (non-) personalized ads. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
  • Manage options
  • Manage services
  • Manage {vendor_count} vendors
  • Read more about these purposes
Manage options
  • {title}
  • {title}
  • {title}
Manage your privacy
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
  • Manage options
  • Manage services
  • Manage {vendor_count} vendors
  • Read more about these purposes
Manage options
  • {title}
  • {title}
  • {title}