Will K-pop’s AI experiment pay off?

There’s a difficulty dividing Ok-pop followers proper now – synthetic intelligence.

A number of of the style’s greatest stars have now used the know-how to create music movies and write lyrics, together with boy band Seventeen.

Final yr the South Korean group bought round 16 million albums, making them one of the profitable Ok-pop acts in historical past. However it’s their most up-to-date album and single, Maestro, that’s received folks speaking.

The music video options an AI-generated scene, and the report would possibly effectively embody AI-generated lyrics too. On the launch of the album in Seoul, one of many band members, Woozi, told reporters he was “experimenting” with AI when songwriting.

“We practised making songs with AI, as we need to develop together with know-how fairly than complain about it,” he stated.

“This can be a technological improvement that we’ve got to leverage, not simply be dissatisfied with. I practised utilizing AI and tried to search for the professionals and cons.”

On Ok-pop dialogue pages, followers have been torn, with some saying extra rules must be in place earlier than the know-how turns into normalised.

Others have been extra open to it, together with tremendous fan Ashley Peralta. “If AI may help an artist overcome artistic blocks, then that’s OK with me,” says the 26-year-old.

Her fear although, is that an entire album of AI generated lyrics means followers will lose contact with their favorite musicians.

“I like it when music is a mirrored image of an artist and their feelings,” she says. “Ok-pop artists are way more revered once they’re arms on with choreographing, lyric writing and composing, since you get a bit of their ideas and emotions.

“AI can take away that essential part that connects followers to the artists.”

Ashley presents Spill the Soju, a Ok-pop fan podcast, along with her greatest pal Chelsea Toledo. Chelsea admires Seventeen for being a self-producing group, which suggests they write their very own songs and choreograph them too, however she’s anxious about AI having an influence on that popularity.

“In the event that they have been to place out an album that’s filled with lyrics they hadn’t personally written, I don’t know if it will really feel like Seventeen any extra and followers need music that’s authentically them”.

For these working in Ok-Pop manufacturing, it’s no shock that artists are embracing new applied sciences.

Chris Nairn is a producer, composer and songwriter working underneath the identify Azodi. Over the previous 12 years he’s written songs for Ok-pop artists together with Kim Woojin and main company SM Leisure.

Working with Ok-pop stars means Chris, who lives in Brighton, has spent lots of time in South Korea, whose music business he describes as progressive.

“What I’ve realized by hanging out in Seoul is that Koreans are massive on innovation, they usually’re very massive on ‘what is the subsequent factor?’, and asking, ‘how can we be one step forward?’ It actually hit me once I was there,” he says.

“So, to me, it is no shock that they are implementing AI in lyric writing, it is about maintaining with know-how.”

Is AI the way forward for Ok-pop? Chris isn’t so certain. As somebody who experiments with AI lyric mills, he doesn’t really feel the lyrics are robust sufficient for prime artists.

“AI is placing out pretty good high quality stuff, however if you’re on the prime tier of the songwriting sport, typically, individuals who do greatest have innovated and created one thing model new. AI works by taking what’s already been uploaded and subsequently can’t innovate by itself.”

If something, Chris predicts AI in Ok-pop will enhance the demand for extra private songs.

“There’s going to be stress from followers to listen to lyrics which can be from the artist’s coronary heart, and subsequently sound completely different to any songs made utilizing AI”.

Seventeen aren’t the one Ok-pop band experimenting with AI. Lady group Aespa, who’ve a number of AI members in addition to human ones, additionally used the know-how of their newest music video. Supernova options generated scenes the place the faces of band members stay nonetheless as solely their mouths transfer.

Podcaster and super-fan Chelsea says it “triggered” lots of people.

“Ok-pop is thought for wonderful manufacturing and modifying, so having entire scenes made from AI takes away the attraction,” she provides.

Chelsea additionally worries about artists not getting the suitable credit score. “With AI in movies it’s more durable to know if somebody’s authentic art work has been stolen, it’s a very sensitive topic”.

Arpita Adhya is a music journalist and self-titled Ok-pop superfan. She believes the usage of AI within the business is demonstrative of the stress artists are underneath to create new content material.

“Most recording artists will put out an album each two years, however Ok-pop teams are pushing out albums each six to eight months, as a result of there’s a lot hype round them.”

She additionally believes AI has been normalised within the business, with the introduction of AI covers which have exploded on YouTube. The duvet tracks are created by followers and use know-how to imitate one other artist’s voice.

It is this type of pattern that Arpita want to see regulated, one thing western artists are calling for too.

Simply final month megastars together with Billie Eilish and Nicki Minaj wrote an open letter calling for the “predatory” use of AI within the music business to be stopped.

They known as on tech companies to pledge to not develop AI music-generation instruments “that undermine or change the human artistry of songwriters and artists, or deny us truthful compensation for our work”.

For Arpita, an absence of rules means followers really feel an obligation to control what’s and isn’t OK.

“While there are not any clear tips on how a lot artists can and might’t use AI, we’ve got the wrestle of constructing boundaries ourselves, and at all times asking ‘what is true and improper?’”

Fortunately she feels Ok-pop artists are conscious of public opinion and hopes there shall be change.

“The followers are the largest half they usually have lots of affect over artists. Teams are at all times eager to study and pay attention, and if Seventeen and Aespa realise they’re hurting their followers, they’ll hopefully handle that.”