Simon Cowell has some judgment on the use of artificial intelligence in music.
“I personally am not a fan of it,” Cowell told Fox News Digital.
He continued, explaining why artists like Queen, David Bowie and Elton John have a lasting, authentic impact, by noting that “their songs, I think, are as good today as they were then. So, anything which is faking it is for me a bit of a problem,” he said.
Cowell doesn’t deny that the creative process is a difficult one.
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Simon Cowell told Fox News Digital he’s “not a fan” of using artificial intelligence in music creation. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
“I think songs, honestly, are the most important part of anyone’s career,” he said. “I think for artists, songwriters right now, it’s tough.”
The “America’s Got Talent” judge’s media company, Syco Entertainment, recently partnered with Universal Music Publishing Group to launch Syco Publishing, dedicated to supporting and developing songwriting talent.
A press release provided to Fox News Digital states, “Through the new agreement, SYCO Publishing will sign and develop songwriters and catalogs that will be administered and supported exclusively through UMPG globally. The new pubco is home to Lucy Spraggan and John Samuel Gerhart, as well as song catalogs from Camila Cabello, James Arthur, Grace VanderWaal, Fifth Harmony and more.”
“I just decided because I love songs so much, I might be able to help a couple writers, and then we’ll sign a few more. Songs are like paintings. If you get a great song, it is like having a painting,” Cowell said.
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“A lot of people said why, and I said I miss it, I really, really do,” Cowell, who got his start in music publishing, added. “And they said what if it doesn’t work, and I said, well that’s the way it goes.”
The “American Idol” alum is also open to working with a new band but doesn’t have specifics in mind just yet.
“I haven’t got a clue until we audition people. I mean, every band I’ve worked with, put together, it just happens. Sometimes it’s luck, sometimes it’s just being in the right place, right moment, and that’s what makes it fun,” he told Fox News Digital.
Simon Cowell said sometimes finding an artist or band is just “luck” or being “in the right place, right moment.” (Rachel Luna/Getty Images)
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Like Hollywood, the music industry is already facing concerns about the use of AI in the creation of new works.
In July, the Recording Academy announced changes to Grammy Awards eligibility to address music created with or by AI.
“A work that contains no human authorship is not eligible in any category,” the new rules read in part.
“Here’s the super-easy, headline statement: AI, or music that contains AI-created elements, is absolutely eligible for entry and for consideration for Grammy nomination. Period,” Recording Academy CEO and President Harvey Mason Jr. told the Associated Press. “What’s not going to happen is we are not going to give a Grammy or Grammy nomination to the AI portion.”
CEO of The Recording Academy Harvey Mason Jr. said the Grammys will not award or nominate “the AI portion” of a work. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
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That means if an AI voice performed vocals on a song, it would still be eligible in a songwriting category but not performance because “what is performing is not human creation” Mason explained. “Conversely, if a song was sung by an actual human in the studio, and they did all the performing, but AI wrote the lyric or the track, the song would not be eligible in a composition or a songwriting category.”
The new Grammy rules come after a series of AI songs, including those that imitated performers like Drake, The Weeknd and Eminem, appeared online this year.
The announcement also came shortly after Paul McCartney told BBC Radio 4’s Today show that there was a new final song from The Beatles in the works with the assistance of AI.
Paul McCartney made headlines when he announced he would complete a final song from The Beatles with the assistance of AI. (Harry Durrant/Getty Images)
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“When we came to make what will be the last Beatles record it was a demo that John had – that we worked on, and we just finished it up – it’ll be released this year. We were able to take John’s voice and get it pure through this AI so that then we could mix the record as you would normally do,” McCartney said.
After some backlash from fans, McCartney clarified that Lennon’s vocals were original and not generated by computer.
Fans were upset about the possibility of an AI-generated version of John Lennon’s voice being used, but Paul McCartney later clarified they were original vocals. (Bettmann)
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“We’ve seen some confusion and speculation about it,” he shared to X, formerly Twitter. “Can’t say too much at this stage, but to be clear, nothing has been artificially or synthetically created. It’s all real, and we all play on it. We cleaned up some existing recordings – a process which has gone on for years,” he assured angry fans.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
