On April 1, more than 200 music notables (including Billie Eilish, Stevie Wonder, 3 Balvin and Jon Bon Jovi) of the Artists Rights Alliance issued an open letter warning against the “predatory use of AI” in the music industry. The letter cites AI’s capability to steal professional artists’ voices and likenesses, violate creators’ rights and “destroy the music ecosystem.” The letter further calls on tech companies, AI developers and digital music services to pledge that they won’t develop or use AI-powered technology the undermines songwriters and artists or prevents them from earning compensation for their art. What are your views and/or concerns relative to artificial intelligence and its impact on music and sound?
As technology progresses at a pace faster than we can fully grasp its real-world implications, there arises a crucial need for moral and ethical evaluations. While AI presents numerous use cases that can boost efficiency and create opportunities, it is extremely important to prioritize the protection of intellectual property and ensure that musicians, singers, and artists are compensated fairly for their creative work. So, it is inevitable that AI will have an impact on the music industry, but we must proceed with caution to implement it in a manner that aids us in solving problems safely and responsibly, rather than exacerbating them or creating new ones. For instance, I find it exciting that AI can easily create stems for songs that previously lacked them, potentially opening doors to more sync opportunities that benefit artists. However, as we navigate this new landscape, it is crucial to remain aware of the associated risks, and establishing a robust set of ethical guidelines for the use of AI in the industry is essential.
How has your role–or that of your business or company–evolved in recent years? What do you like most about that evolution? What do you like least?
As the music industry and advertising world has shifted, so has the role of a music supervisor or producer. We now need to be experts on music, on technology, and on social media trends. We have to be constantly learning, relearning, and looking at the ways other people innovate. We often have to rethink the way we do the same job to adapt to new mediums, expectations, and timelines. I think it’s an exciting opportunity to experiment with music in ways we may not have thought of before, but we need to make sure to engage with tech and trends thoughtfully.
What was the biggest creative challenge posed to you by a recent project? Tell us about that project, why the challenge was particularly noteworthy or gratifying to overcome, or what valuable lesson you learned from it.
We had a creatively challenging project in which we had to shoot to and remake a song, but we couldn’t get everyone to align on the song prior to filming. We must have through over 300 songs (and the true amount internally is likely higher) before landing on one of the first pieces we presented. It was an exercise in understanding different perspectives and goals and figuring out new ways of explaining what a track can become when it is remade – and how you can give yourself the most flexibility in post (the classic “fix it in post!” adage comes to mind – easier said than done!) The final video is stunning – and everybody comments on the music – but nobody can pick up on the obstacles we faced, which means we were successful!
What recent work are you most proud of and why? Or what recent work (advertising or entertainment)–your own or that of others–has struck a responsive chord with you?
We recently released our Pedigree® Tail Orchestra campaign in which we filmed an orchestra conducted by dogs’ tails. It was remarkable to see how instantly well-received it was by people – we even had over 200,000 streams of the Tail Orchestra album on Spotify in only a few weeks. It’s really a great example of incredible creative, teams that put their all in every day, fantastic production partners, and clients who believed in us and allowed us expand the idea beyond what everyone originally planned for. At its core, it’s also just plain fun – even if you’re not a classical musician or orchestral enthusiast, you can relate to the joy of being around a dog and how unpredictable they are. I’m proud of the work we did and so happy to see that people are enjoying it.
