Will AI Make Producers Obsolete?

So, there’s been plenty of discussion about AI and music production, and where it’s heading can feel scary, daunting, or even disappointing, especially if you’re a producer who’s spent years learning your craft and getting to where you are today.

 

The claims from some companies are bold: “Anyone can be a musician now, just type a prompt into an AI system and voila, you’ve made a perfectly produced, flawless tune. Check me out, I’m a producer.”

 

I get it. At first glance, it can feel like our time as real producers is nearing its end. Or is it?

 

Beyond the ethical questions and unknown implications of AI, and the issues we do know about, humans have a funny way of reacting like the proverbial cat that got killed. And yes, we’ve all seen the films where robots take over and enslave humanity. I won’t be surprised if some version of that becomes reality someday.

 

But I digress.

 

The future of music and AI is actually exciting, not necessarily as it is today, but what it will become. Music generation is a bit behind video models right now, but eventually it will catch up.

 

And when it does, the language of music production that we’ve learned over years, all that knowledge and experience, will become incredibly useful again. We’ll be able to guide AI using detailed commands, just like video generation tools, to create exactly what we imagine.

 

This is where the two worlds combine: human imagination and AI execution. The future will not be about letting AI do everything. It will be about knowing what to ask for.

 

Want your lead to be crunchier or dynamically flatter? A beginner might not even know that is possible, but someone with experience will be able to guide the AI to exactly what they want. The bar will rise, sure, but so will the possibilities.

 

This is why I’m excited now, where once I was worried. I used to scoff at AI and, deep down, I feared it would make all the years of practice and learning I’ve invested irrelevant. I’m passionate about music, and like many others, I’ve had that fear: “Am I going to become obsolete?”

 

The truth is, the future is bright. Our skills will still matter. In fact, implementing AI into your workflow could give you an advantage, because the more you understand your craft, the more you can push the technology to achieve exactly what you want.

 

Beginners will find it more accessible, but for those who know the language of music and production, things get very interesting.

 

I go into lots of techniques and methods for making better electronic music in my book, Essential Mix Insights. Much of it will still be useful in the future, and learning now will give you the tools to navigate whatever AI brings next.

 

That is, until the robots decide the world would be better off if humans were obsolete. At that point, well, it’s game over for all of us, not just musicians.