# AI and Music: From Fake Artists to Artistic Collaboration In the AI podcast of the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation, tech journalists Gregor Schmalzried and Fritz Espenlaub discuss AI-generated music and the future of music creation. They particularly focus on an upcoming concert by the BR Radio Orchestra, which will feature AI-supported compositions. ### 1. AI-Generated Phantom Artists Flood Streaming Services On streaming platforms like Spotify, more and more AI-generated songs are being uploaded under false or non-existent artist names. Gregor shares a personal experience: "About two months ago, I open my music streaming service and I see a new song by this band, Made in Heights. A new release, for the first time in ten years." It later turned out that the song was likely AI-generated, as the original band members posted on Instagram that they had nothing to do with it. ### 2. The Boundaries between AI and Human Creativity Blur The latest AI tools can now produce deceptively realistic audio and video content. This leads to a cultural moment where the boundaries between AI-generated and human content blur: "We are currently in a very special cultural moment where everything overlaps. [...] in the end, we won't even know what is AI and what is real." ### 3. AI as a Collaborative Tool for Composers Composer Michael A. Leitner would not rely solely on AI generation for a AI concert with the BR Radio Orchestra, but rather use AI as a tool in the creative process: "It's about connecting to the artistic creation process. That means, I put something into the AI and I get five examples back [...] the AI basically continues composing for me." ### 4. The Question of the Artistic Value of AI Creations The question arises of what distinguishes artistically valuable AI applications from the "flood of arbitrary content": "The more I leave the process of creating something new to an AI, the more it will sound like something that has already existed or like the average of everything that has already existed." ## Breakdown The podcast offers a nuanced look at the impact of AI in the music industry, where the hosts find a middle ground between technological enthusiasm and critical reflection. Notably, they distinguish between machine-generated mass output that floods streaming platforms and the creative use of AI in the composition process. The discussion illustrates a shift in the cultural perception of AI: away from a mere tool and towards a creative collaboration partner. The podcast avoids a one-sided techno-deterministic perspective by highlighting areas of tension between different interest groups: established artists vs. AI generators, professional vs. hobby creatives, and commercial vs. artistic interests. In doing so, the hosts also implicitly reflect on the question of authenticity and the value of artistic work in the digital age. While technical details and commercial implications are well-covered, the cultural-philosophical dimension of copyright and the question "What is art?" remains somewhat implicit. Overall, the podcast provides an accessible and balanced introduction to the topic of AI-supported music production with concrete examples that make the topic tangible.