By Ethan Lee
Artificial intelligence and its involvement in music are no longer a futuristic concept.
Today, AI music is being consumed by almost everybody, purposefully or not.
With roughly 75% of organisations admitting to having used AI music at least once, upwards of 1.3 billion AI-generated videos and audios on TikTok and music platforms admitting to an overflooding of AI music, it’s almost impossible not to take in artificially generated music.
For companies, it’s a cheap way of cutting costs; for others, it’s an easy way of bringing in music royalties from music platforms, but most importantly, for real music artists, it’s ruining their opportunities and careers.
For Gen Z, this uprise in AI music has been a topic of major debate.
As a generation with a deep connection to technology and seemingly the most prepared for AI to become integrated with our day-to-day lives, we still seem to be very wary of it when it comes to music
With many members of Gen Z – both music artists and music fans – questioning when and how AI crosses the line into something damaging, and AI music becoming more and more common, these questions are getting even harder to ignore.
Where exactly does that line start? Can AI be used creatively?
And above all, how can we stop AI from suppressing the true meaning of music?
-Music Journalist Ethan Lee showing the dangers of AI music
Statistics
In 2025, Spotify admitted to having deleted 75 million AI tracks from its platform. Other music platforms, such as Deezer, have admitted that between 20,000 and 60,000 AI songs get uploaded per day.
These songs are considered AI spam, or the better term (coined by Gen Z themselves) AI slop. Basically, they’re AI-generated tracks, generated with the aim of deceiving algorithms, exploiting streaming royalties and fooling those who aren’t expecting it to be artificially generated.
Now we’re all in agreement that AI used in this way is incredibly harmful, but is it giving a bad rap to AI being used in music and can it be used creatively?
Can AI Help Artists Create?
Chloe Bartlett, a 20-year-old singer and songwriter from Suffolk, had this to say:
“AI can be used creatively if it’s treated like a tool rather than the artist itself. People already use technology in production all the time, so AI could just become another creative layer”.
She added: “Music is such a human thing, I don’t think AI can truly replace real emotion or lived experiences in songwriting”.
It’s clear that even though AI has the potential to be used in free-thinking, innovative ways, it also has to be used carefully in order not to tread on the authenticity of the music.
Despite her overall feeling on AI in music, she believes that it’s going to “become a huge part of the industry, whether people like it or not”, possibly pushing music artists uncomfortably closer to the implementation of AI into music.
Why Gen Z Artists Question AI Music?
While Gen Z are a generation built on their fast understanding of technology, not all are quite as convinced that AI will be a positive change.
Bartlett argues: “We grew up around technology constantly, so I think we’re more open to experimenting with it, but at the same time were probably more aware of how quickly things online can become fake or manufactured. So there’s curiosity but also a lot of scepticism”.
However, Dan Harrison, an 18 year old drummer from Warrington, isn’t as open to the idea as Bartlett is.
He believes that using AI in music creates an “artificial personality”. “It’s generating content without the talent to create it,” he said.
Harrison’s opinions may reflect the Gen Z music artists who struggle to get their music heard due to the saturation of AI within the scene.
While Bartlett reflects the opinions of those who are open to the creative challenge AI could introduce to music, but still recognise the dangers.
Music journalist Ethan Lee and Journalist Mike Harrison discussing AI music
The Future of Music
Artificial intelligence is making its mark on the wider music scene at a rapid pace.
While some can see the potential and creativity AI can introduce, others see it as a cheap burden that undermines real music artists.
The debate surrounding AI in music is relatively new and still evolving but with so many Gen Z artists standing up and speaking their mind on the topic, perhaps a hopeful future isn’t far off.
Despite this, it seems the main cause for conversation isn’t about the AI itself, but more the human behind it.
After all, AI can create a sound, but only humans can create the meaning.
