Kelly Hansen of Foreigner shared his thoughts about music and how it’s stolen by technology and artificial intelligence. In the recent episode of the ‘In Search Of Excellence’ podcast, he was asked for his opinion on the music industry’s current state.
The singer shared a memory of him coming across a rap musician and asking about his revenue streams. The rapper, apparently, said they come only from lives and that he uses social media to direct to live.
Hansen then shared an opinion similar to the rapper’s:
“Live is the only place you’re making any money. If you have a giant catalog of hits, I would’ve suggested you sold it ten years ago because I can’t see a scenario where your catalog’s gonna make more. It’s not gonna have a growth life to it unless something happens.”
The singer then expressed his frustration about internet users stealing songs to create new songs with the use of AI:
“But what I see now is everybody’s stealing everything, and no one’s paying anybody anything. And if I can steal Frank Sinatra’s voice in AI to make a TikTok clip that gets me a hundred thousand followers or likes or listens, and it makes me add money, what the hell? What’s going on? What does Frank Sinatra’s estate say about that?”
He continued:
“I’ve done so many interviews and sung so many songs, I could be AIed tomorrow, and no one would need me anymore.”
Similar incidents happened when many AI users created songs of musicians such as Grimes, Oasis, and Joe Bonamassa, all of which shared their thoughts. While Bonamassa and Noel Gallagher said that it’s concerning and harmful for musicians, Grimes shared that it was okay for people to use her songs for AI-generated ones. She even offered to split 50% royalties on any successful AI-generated piece that uses her voice.
Although an AI-generated Foreigner song doesn’t seem to have been created yet, with the development of AI, it’s possible to find one soon.
Listen to the podcast below.
