In my last article, I shared my vision of a golden age of DJing brought about by advancements in AI-generated music. You might think it’s a far-fetched idea, but in reality, we’re much closer than you might imagine. There are already several proof-of-concept tools available that showcase this exciting future. The results may be rough around the edges, but they’re undeniably compelling. Let me introduce you to a few of my favorites.
Rapid developments in AI technology are not only transforming the visual arts, movies, and games, but they’re also making significant strides in the music. Although still in the early stages, these innovative tools are shaping the future of AI-driven DJing. They’re more “proof of concept” than “stage-ready”:
AI Takes Center Stage: Text-to-DJ and Beyond
Imagine this: Instead of loading a new track by Skrillex into your DJ setup, you:
- type in a command like “Play a Skrillex track”
- an AI-generated Skrillex-style song starts playing
- You then request modifications – like “speed it up and add some disco flavor” or “switch to a minor key” or “strip back to a minimal version”
- Then while the track is playing, type in “after a breakdown, make the song halftime, and make it sound like an Eminem edit”
AI technology has the potential to seamlessly mix and generate familiar-sounding songs with entirely new contexts, merging DJ mixing and live generative production.
Imagine DJ mixing and live generative production fused into one.
This this is crazy? Riffusion is a tool that already offers a glimpse into this exciting future. Although still crude, it demonstrates the potential of text-to-DJ technology. Go click through some of the example prompts and hit the play button to hear them – you’ll see what I mean very quickly.
What about AI’s Impact on Artists?
Theoretically, artists (like Skrillex in my example above) could even receive royalties for AI-generated music inspired by their work. We may no longer listen to music by an artist, but rather to AI-generated music inspired by their unique styles, while still supporting their creative endeavors.
Look no further than Grimes – who has already launched a platform allowing users to upload their own vocals as audio files into a platform that manipulates them to sound “Grimes-ified”. Then, artists are allowed to theoretically release the track with a 50% royalties split with Grimes and credit her as a featured artist on the track.
Next-Level AI-Generated Music
Admittedly, Riffusion’s output may not be stage-ready, but check out this impressive example of AI-generated music from a Max Planck Institute team that’s much more polished, albeit at a lower fidelity.
Just imagine the possibilities as the technology advances in the coming years. Remember how skeptics dismissed the first MP3 files? We all know how that story ended. With technology evolving at an exponential rate, we can expect high-quality audio generation sooner rather than later.
Creativity is the new superpower
As AI technology becomes more accessible, and audio creation tools become ubiquitous, the range and scope of your craziest ideas will set you apart. AI-generated mashups of unexpected combinations will become commonplace, as seen in this hilarious video of Marvel comic stars appearing on MasterChef:
A few weeks ago, an AI-generated “collaboration” between Drake and The Weeknd emerged, delighting fans everywhere (except perhaps for the record labels):
In a world where the limits to your creativity are only the imagination – what would you create?
