So, the robots were supposed to steal our jobs, our creativity, and apparently, our Bandcamp carts. Except, according to Bandcamp themselves, the robot uprising in the independent music scene is… delayed. Or maybe it’s just really, really subtle.
Forbes recently interviewed Bandcamp’s editorial director, J. Edward Keyes, and general manager, Dan Melnick, and the topic of AI-generated music came up. The revelation? No deluge of artificially crafted sonic landscapes flooding the platform.
“I have not noticed any significant uptick on records that are, like, created with the help of AI,” Keyes stated. “I’m not all of a sudden getting tons of pitches from writers that are like, ‘Half of this record was made with AI,’ or seeing in the album notes on Bandcamp ‘made with the assistance of AI.’ That has not taken off at all.”
Now, before we declare victory for human artistry, let’s consider the possibilities. Option A: AI music is genuinely terrible and no one wants to buy it, even ironically. Option B: Aspiring AI composers are shrewdly targeting streaming services, where the sheer volume of content might mask their synthetic origins, prioritizing quantity over Bandcamp’s curated (and discerning) audience. Option C: Artists are using AI, but they’re keeping it on the down-low, fearing the dreaded “AI-washing” backlash. Maybe they’re using it as a tool, a co-pilot, carefully blending the organic with the algorithmic and passing it off as pure human genius (insert maniacal laugh here).
Whatever the reason, the lack of overt AI influence on Bandcamp is… interesting. It suggests a few things. Firstly, perhaps the independent music community values authenticity, even if that authenticity is debatable in the age of readily available plugins. Secondly, maybe AI hasn’t quite cracked the code of what makes independent music, well, independent. It can mimic genres, create complex harmonies, and even generate convincing drum patterns, but can it replicate the raw emotion, the vulnerability, the sheer weirdness that often defines the best indie releases? Probably not yet.
Of course, this doesn’t mean AI won’t eventually find its place on Bandcamp. The technology is constantly evolving, and as it becomes more sophisticated (and perhaps more ethically integrated into artistic workflows), we might see a shift. Maybe we will soon see legions of AI-assisted grindcore bands. Maybe the next big lo-fi hit will be crafted entirely by a neural network trained on vaporwave samples. The possibilities are, theoretically, endless.
In other Bandcamp news, the platform is planning to release a beta version of playlist-sharing this year. Melnick describes it as “an opportunity for fans and collectors to share the music they love from the artists they’ve directly supported…” A noble goal. Hopefully, these playlists won’t be entirely populated by algorithms anytime soon. Imagine a future where your carefully curated Bandcamp playlists are secretly optimized by Skynet for maximum engagement. Shudder.
For now, however, Bandcamp remains a relatively safe haven from the AI music onslaught. Enjoy the human-generated sounds while they last. And if you are secretly using AI to create your music, maybe, just maybe, consider adding a disclaimer. Or don’t. We’re not the music police. Yet.
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