2024 was without a doubt, the year of technology. Artificial intelligence has evolved a great deal since it was invented and has even been used to create art. However, using AI to create art has been heavily and openly detested by artists all over the globe; as it’s been said, it poses a threat to people who work hard with intense trial and error to create art that can be copied by AI in a matter of seconds. However, this poses the question, why is virtual art so despised while virtual music is praised?
The term “virtual artist” has been coined so many times; it’s hard to say just who started it. Although, the earliest virtual band to be on record was created by Ross S. Bagdasarian in 1958. Though he’s most commonly known by his stage name David “Dave” Seville, and his band of walking, talking, and singing chipmunks! The virtual sensation Alvin and the Chipmunks made their debut in 1958 with their songs “Witch Doctor,” and “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late!)” The band instantly became a hit and released several other memorable songs, but as their popularity grew, so did the demand for more content, so from 1961 to 1962, the first season of “The Alvin Show” aired. Though it never got a season 2, it did inspire several reboots and a few movies which are still popular to this day. Little did Bagdasarian know that his idea would bring about the biggest shift in musical history.
The concept of a band with animated stars shattered the idea of what music could be and paved the way for a whole new era of artistic expression. While Alvin and the Chipmunks was the earliest form of virtual band, the term wasn’t truly popularized until the early 2000’s with the creation of the band Gorillaz. Gorillaz was the brainchild of Damon Albarn of the hit band Blur and comic book illustrator Jamie Hewlett. The band consists of four members: Murdoc Niccals on bass, Russel Hobbs on drums, Noodle on Guitar, and 2-D (Stuart Potts) as the lead singer. The characters are complete with a backstory, preferences, fears, and other traits that flesh them out as people existing in the same society as faced today.
KDA, The Archies, Jem and the Holograms are just a few examples of other virtual bands. Not including the even longer list of virtual singers that are a solo act. However, like anything else, this popularity comes with a few strings attached: the most common one being people who are looking to replicate the success of these artists, but simply don’t have the creativity to do so and thus resort to…alternative methods. The most devastating example of AI being used to write music is Michael Smith from North Carolina, who was caught using AI to write hundreds of songs by fake artists, and slowly but surely, ended up making 10 million dollars from his listeners before he was charged with fraud. Another example is @imsethdrums on Instagram, who has gained a significant following by asking AI to write country songs about inappropriate topics. The main difference between them is that @imsethdrums very clearly labels the songs as AI generated and hasn’t released any anywhere besides Instagram. But taking this into account, is it ok to use AI to write and produce music if it’s explicitly stated that it was AI generated?
On the one hand, people could be using AI to get inspiration for songs that they are personally writing and producing and nothing else. Contrastingly, people could be using AI to write music and voice over the results themselves, passing it off as their own, and people would never know. Where exactly does virtual bands fit into all this? Virtual bands focus mainly on the virtual characters rather than the real life members of the band which could be dangerous; since they are more behind the scenes, they can get away with a lot more than if they were front and center. While no official artists have been caught using AI to write music, several have spoken out against it.
AI has been described as a technological breakthrough by millions of scientists and engineers. And while AI is a revolutionary invention that could change the lives of millions, it’s up to users of AI to decide whether that impact is positive, or negative. It’s important to act as if one’s actions can have consequences that affect others, because they do.
