Artificial Intelligence has fingers in nearly every part of life. But many artists see it as a watering down of creative license. While some see the efficiencies in using technology for the business side of the industry, many are adamantly opposed to the use of AI in making music.
Bend musician Eric Leadbetter of the Leadbetter Band says AI has no place music. “Music is all about human expression, not AI consumerism slop.” He says some bands use AI to make flyers and, on a grander scale, he’s seen AI generated bands on streaming platforms.
“There was a story of a guy who created an AI band, then created bots to stream the songs on repeat, and he made millions of dollars,” he says. Leadbetter’s personal antipathy for AI stems from how it disconnects people in a culture where people are already struggling to stay connected. And he has environmental concerns. “It uses an insane amount of water, and resources, amidst a water crisis in so many areas,” he explains. Computer servers powering AI models require constant cooling. An article by the environmental law institute found that, in 2023, data centers in the U.S. consumed 66 billion liters of water.
Brandon Campbell doesn’t use AI for writing, composing or recording. “For me, the magic of music lies entirely in the human element. I prefer music born out of a songwriter’s life experiences, their sweat, their distinct influences, and experimentation,” he explains. The Brandon Campbell Trio is a local acoustic group that performs at venues throughout Central Oregon. While he doesn’t believe there’s space for AI in the creative process, he does see it as a helpful, practical tool.
“For artists acting as their own booking agents, publicists and managers, AI can be incredibly useful for streamlining administrative tasks,” he says. “For example, I built a “Gig Availability Calculator” using AI. I fed it all of our booked gigs and the band members’ blackout dates, so when a new booking opportunity comes in, the tool instantly flags any conflicts or close calls. For logistics like that it can be nice,” he explains.
Bend-based composer Chris Thomas believes that taking the human out of the music making process comes at the cost of true art. While he understands how AI can help organize a schedule or analyze a spreadsheet, it cannot replicate the creative spirit.
“AI-generated music tends to gravitate toward the bland, generic averages,” he says. Thomas composes music for film, television and theme parks, creating scores for dozens of programs and venues, including “Lost,” “Fortnite” and Knott’s Berry Farm.
Still, he acknowledges there can be a limited use of AI. “Take EQ, for example. Modern AI-powered tools can analyze a track and suggest frequency adjustments that would have taken much longer to find manually. That’s such a useful way to speed up the workflow. The risk comes when artists begin deferring to the tool.” Thomas says AI will most likely make the safest decisions rather than the most expressive or impactful ones.
“What makes art truly impactful and moving are often the very things that defy prediction. They’re the unexpected choices, the personal voice, the risks and the imperfections that reveal a human being behind the work. I mean, you’re free to decorate your home with soulless, generic hotel-room art. You’re equally free to fill your world with music that is artistically barren. The real question is whether this represents the kind of artistic culture we actually want to immerse ourselves in.”
Thomas says he’s lost work due to the rise of AI. He’s had film and themed entertainment clients drop him because companies can train AI to generate approximations of his style at no cost. But he wants people to be honest about their use of Artificial Intelligence.
“What fascinates me isn’t the AI output itself. It’s how often people speak about these works as though they genuinely created them,” he says. “I’m not opposed to technology. We all benefit from new tools. But there is a meaningful difference between using technology to empower people and using it to replace them. The choices we make now will help determine which future we’re building toward.”
Portland musician Jesse Ribordy, whose band, The Chilling Alpine Adventure, is performing at Silver Moon Brewing on June 26, says he never uses AI. “I’ve spent more than two decades crafting and improving my skills, so I don’t actually feel the need for it at all and feel really proud of all my hard work and experience to get to this point.”
Like Thomas, he sees AI only as a tool to assist musicians with technical aspects of their work. “Like exporting stems, which is a time-consuming process that has nothing to do with creating the music itself.” Ribordy, too, says he is losing jobs. He says the smaller gigs that sustain him between performances, such as writing jingles, are being replaced with AI.
He understands the lure of using the technology as an inexpensive way to create something but doesn’t think it should be used in work that’s “expression-based.” He’s frustrated that music made with AI is not clearly labeled and can dilute the purity of something created by hard work and emotion. “I think if you love what you do and you are passionate and driven, you will find a way to make your album — whether it’s through community banding together to help you because they believe in you, saving up money, selling your car to fund it, like I once did, or learning all the skills you can to offset the cost.”
Lessley Anderson, songwriter for the California band Ginger Molasses, which will perform in Bend on July 30, says her band doesn’t use AI because they genuinely enjoy doing the work themselves. “We have used it in the past for making posters and are getting away from that now because it looks cheesy and dumb.”
She’s also encountered a backlash about the use of AI. “Recently a club, Thee Stork Club, in Oakland came out hard and said they would no longer accept promotional posters from artists who use AI,” she says. The club is requiring all band flyers to be made by humans. But that, Anderson says, can be expensive and a barrier for small bands.
“I’m not somebody who is fully anti-AI,” she explains. “We have used AI to build tools to help the business side of what we do. One member of Ginger Molasses used AI to help build a database of clubs and venues throughout California and compiled a list of bands who had played at those venues in the last few years. He also used AI to build out playlists of music made by bands who had recently been booked at festivals we also want to play at, so that we, as a band, could better understand the curation of said festivals.
AI enhancing the creative process
A music company that’s embraced AI is Pulse Jet Studios based in San Francisco, which creates music videos. Founder John Gearty says the technology is a game changer. “We were making videos the old-fashioned way using expensive cameras and editing with Final Cut Pro. Storyboards would take us weeks. Shooting would take another month or so for a total of about $10,000 and a couple months of labor per video,” he says. “Now with our own custom tool, we can make storyboards in just 30 minutes, an entire music video in about two hours, and we can include real clips.”
Gearty admits it can be challenging to change attitudes among skeptics. “I think everyone holds mixed emotions about AI and musicians are no different.” He believes many musicians are using AI in some form but are hesitant to admit it. “It’s so incredibly powerful that I think in just a year or two we’ll be over that stigma… I’m hesitant to call it a tool because it’s much different than anything we’ve seen before. It is just another piece of technology that artists and musicians can choose to use or not.”
He contends that AI generates new material by learning a style, thereby making a generative, creative artform. “For those who say it removes individuality or creativity, I don’t think you’re paying attention,” Gearty says. “I point people to some of my favorite AI artists such as Kelly Boesch. I’d recommend your readers watch a little Kelly Boesch art while reading this. She’s making incredible music and video that pushes the creative limits.”
Gearty sees AI as part of an ongoing evolution in technology, and one that can be used to enhance the creative process. “I think we’re just scratching the surface of what AI can do, which is both incredibly exciting and scary for all of us. Artists are not alone in this. Even as a seasoned technologist who lived through the Dot com era, I’m both delighted and terrified to see an equal or bigger wave of technology that stands ready to change almost every facet of the way we live.”
Final thoughts
Leadbetter, who is concerned about the negative impacts of an unregulated industry says, “One pro is that AI could be the catalyst to bring liberals, conservatives and everyone in between together, to stand up to protect and save our common ground.”
Ribordy remains steadfastly against using AI in the creative process. “The music industry has been destroyed enough by greed. This only further damages it and I’m not sure how musicians will survive it to be honest.” He goes on to say, “Music is human and nature’s expression. It belongs to living things.” No one put it more bluntly than Ribordy. “It’s wild to be alive during the destruction of music.”
Thomas is more magnanimous about the introduction of AI overall. “We’re incredibly fortunate to have a front-row seat to what may become some of the greatest breakthroughs in medicine, engineering, physics, and countless other fields,” he tells the Source. “I’m excited by the prospect of smarter cars, better computers, even smarter coffee makers.”
“While none of us can truly know where all of this is going, I would like to, at least — I’m trying to — maintain faith that people will always crave real, tactile human experiences,” Campbell from the Brandon Campbell Trio says. “And a great way to fight this is to go out and see some live, local music!”
Eric Leadbetter
Sat, June 27
Bend Blues Fest - Silver Moon Brewing
Sun, June 28
Deschutes Brewery Beer Garden
ericleadbettermusic.com/shows
Brandon Campbell Trio
Sun, June 28 4pm - GoodLife Brewing
Sat, July 11 6:30pm - Portello Lounge
brandoncampbellmusic.com/performances
The Chilling Alpine Adventure
Fri, June 26 7pm
Silver Moon Brewing
24 NW Greenwood Ave, Bend
chillingalpineadventure.com/
Ginger Molasses
Thu, July 30
Silver Moon Brewing
24 NW Greenwood Ave, Bend
gingermolasses.com/
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