OTR’S Thoughts on AI-Created Music

Thoughts on AI-Created Music: Is It Revolution or Rhapsody of the Machine?

It feels like every week there’s a new headline: an AI-generated track that perfectly mimics a famous artist, an algorithm creating a never-ending stream of background music, or a composer using a bot to break through writer’s block. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept—it’s actively writing the soundtrack to our lives. And here at Our Town Radio, we’re asking a big question: What does this mean for the music we love?

The conversation around AI-generated music is a polarizing one. Depending on who you ask, it’s either the next great tool to unlock creative frontiers or a soulless threat to the authenticity and heart of music. Let’s tune in to both sides.

🚀 The Power of the Algorithm: A New Creative Partner

For many, AI represents a massive leap forward for accessibility and creativity. Think of it as a super-producer, composer, and session musician all rolled into one.

• Democratizing Creation: AI tools are leveling the playing field. You no longer need expensive studio time or advanced music theory training to create a high-quality track. A creator can simply input a mood (“upbeat summer pop song”) and receive a fully formed piece in seconds.
• A Cure for Creative Block: AI can be an incredible collaborative partner. When a musician hits a wall, an algorithm can instantly generate new chord progressions, melodies, or rhythmic ideas, providing a fresh spark of inspiration.
• Efficiency and Scale: For filmmakers, podcasters, and content creators, AI can provide custom, royalty-free background scores instantly. This efficiency slashes production costs and time, making tailored audio accessible to everyone.

The future here isn’t human vs. machine, but human + machine, a powerful new harmony that pushes the boundaries of genre and sound.

🤔 The Human Element: Where’s the Soul?

Despite its technical brilliance, AI music raises profound questions about authenticity and artistry that we, as radio listeners, care deeply about.

• The Problem of the “Soul”: Music has always been the language of human emotion—joy, heartbreak, struggle. Critics argue that while AI can perfectly mimic the style of a song (by analyzing thousands of tracks), it doesn’t have the lived experience, the passion, or the intention that gives a song its soul. Can an algorithm truly capture the feeling of a songwriter pouring their heart out?
• Ethical and Ownership Concerns: Who owns a song created by an AI? The programmer? The user who gave the prompt? What happens when an AI is trained on copyrighted material and then generates something eerily similar to an existing hit? These murky legal waters are currently causing massive ripples in the music industry, leading to calls for greater transparency about how and where AI models get their data.
• The Value of Human Musicianship: There is a real fear that as AI tools become more advanced and affordable, opportunities for human session musicians, composers, and vocalists could shrink, devaluing the very skills that have defined music for centuries.

📻 What Does This Mean for the Radio?

For Our Town Radio, AI music is a fascinating challenge.

While an AI can create a perfect beat, it can’t create the story. It can’t sit down for an interview and talk about the unexpected moment that inspired a lyric, or the years of dedication it took to master an instrument.

The job of your radio station is to be the human filter, the curator, and the storyteller. We believe the human touch of a great radio host—the one who knows how to connect a song to an emotion, a community, or a memory—will only become more vital in a world saturated with algorithmic content.

The Final Note

AI-generated music is a new reality we can’t ignore. It will change how music is made, distributed, and even consumed. The key, as with any revolutionary technology, is not to resist it entirely, but to ensure that we guide it. We must ensure that human creativity remains at the heart of the process, using AI as a tool to augment our artistry, not replace it.

What do you think? Is AI-created music the future, or just noise?

We want to hear your thoughts! Have you listened to an AI-generated track? Do you think a machine can create true art? Let us know in the comments below or call in to the station!