Singer Daniel Bedingfield backs using AI to write new music
Noughties icon Daniel Bedingfield has broken his 20-year hiatus from making music to call on artists to embrace artificial intelligence when writing new songs.
The Gotta Get Thru This singer, who had a string of number one hits in the early 2000s, said AI will disrupt the music industry.
The 44-year-old also revealed his long-awaited comeback to music with the release of a new album made using artificial intelligence.
Attending an event organised by the University of Southampton, the BRIT-award winner said AI could affect tens of thousands of musicians across the world.
“It’s the most disruptive moment in music history”, Daniel added, “you can create songs – good songs – in 20 seconds.
“I think that it’s over for writers and producers unless they start working with AI as a tool.”
The New Zealand-British artist shot to superstardom with the release of his debut album Gotta Get Thru This back in 2002.
It sold four million copies worldwide and the title track reached number one in the UK.
Daniel spoke at the London event, AI, Music, and the Human Spirit, on Wednesday 12 June hosted at the Royal Society.
It is organised by the University of Southampton which is at the heart of government plans to turn the UK into an AI powerhouse.
Daniel will be joined on-stage by Fernando Garibay, who has worked with artists Lady Gaga and U2, and experts from RAi UK and UKRI TAS Hub, based at the university.
The duo will be creating music live on-stage using AI software and talking about the impact of artificial intelligence in the music industry.
Daniel, who is the brother of songwriter Natasha Bedingfield, has been out of the charts for two decades but has this month starting working on new AI-assisted music.
He added: “I’ve spent the last few days making a new drum and bass album using AI which is better than any D&B I’ve created in 20 years.
“I recorded my vocals and some music and put it into AI – it did the rest of it with so much of my soul because it’s based on the DNA of my songs.”
Creating new music with computer-power is nothing new for Daniel, whose Gotta Get Thru This hit was the first song recorded using sequencing software on a PC.
Daniel, who recently founded tech startup Hoooks to pioneering artificial intelligence music and video content, added: “I think AI is going to be brutal for a lot of people.
“Artists like Stevie Wonder and Prince were two of the finest musicians who could play and produce their own music and finish songs by themselves in a day.
“But now AI puts this unrestricted and unfettered creativity into the hands of lots of young and upcoming artists.
“It’s a superpower and anyone can create music in their bedrooms without needing hundreds of thousands of dollars or six months in a recording studio.”
Find out more about the University of Southampton’s TAS Hub.
Or read about RAi UK and it’s plan to turn the UK into an AI powerhouse.