In the past years, the use of AI tools in the music industry has received mixed reactions. In India, the debates sparked after renowned Indian composer A.R. Rahman used AI to recreate the voices of two late singers, Bamba Bakya and Shahul Hameed, for Rajinikanth’s 2024 film Lal Salaam.
In a recent interview with PTI, Rahman addressed the controversy and shared his thoughts on the larger implications of AI in music. “Some of the songs are so filthy, it needs to be controlled because if it’s not, there’ll be chaos,” Rahman said, talking about some of the music created by AI trying to mimic other artists.
While Rahman acknowledged the power of AI to empower creators who previously lacked resources, he also cautioned against its unchecked misuse. “There are good and bad aspects,” he noted.
‘The good things should be used to empower people who never had the chance to put their vision into action. However, overusing it is detrimental to us. It’s like mixing poison with oxygen and breathing it in.’
Rahman clarified that when he used AI in Lal Salaam, it was done ethically. Permission was obtained from the families of the late singers, and they were also compensated. “It’s a tool to speed up things, not to fire people,” Rahman said in a previous statement defending his decision.
Rahman emphasised the urgent need for guidelines and digital ethics. “There should be rules, like certain things you can’t do. Like, how they talk about ethics or behaviour in a society—this is also behaviour in the software and digital world.”
On the other hand, amidst copyright claims and the need for fairly compensating artists, it becomes an uphill task for AI startups, such as Suno.ai or Udio AI, to gain revenue and popularity.
For example, while speaking earlier with AIM, Mikey Shulman, CEO of Suno stated that the AI platform by the company is not just making music, but musicians as well.
However, there are two sides of this debate. Beatoven.ai, an Indian AI music startup, has gotten the hang of it in the most ethical and responsible way possible. CEO Mansoor Rahimat Khan and his team started contacting small and slowly bigger artists for creating partnerships and sourcing their own data.
The company had a headstart as no one was talking about this field back then. Within a year, it amassed more than 100,000 data samples, which were all proprietary for them.
When it comes to Beatoven.ai, Khan told AIM that he aims to head in a more B2B direction as building a direct consumer app does not make sense. “I don’t believe everybody wants to create music,” added Khan, saying that not everyone is learning music in the world. That is why, the company is currently focused only on background music without vocals.
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