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"The record on the wall is not content" def worth 5 minutes if you still buy physical

S

sobubble

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Someone sent me this and I ended up reading the whole thing twice.
Basically lays out where we're at, 60,000 AI tracks hitting Spotify daily, most of the streams on them are bots, and yet vinyl just posted its 18th straight year of growth.
The stat that got me: 40% of people buying records don't even own a turntable. They're buying the sleeve.
Not the usual "vinyl warm, digital cold" argument. More about what happens when you stop choosing music and let the algorithm do it for you.

https://jewelmade-manifesto.vercel.app

Keen to hear what you lot think. I've been buying more CDs again this year and I can't fully explain why.
 
Don't really get the Anti AI shtick which is currently popular across the net tbh.

It smacks of luddism.

I care not if music is generated by a drug addled loner shooting up in a bedsit or skynet. If I like it then that's good enough.

The fear is probably one of replacement rather than displacement but that's paranoia imho.

People will always make music.
 
Haflermichi said:
There is not one single quotation of a source for any of the figures in this...diatribe.
Click to expand...
You are correct sir, let me check if i can google up some references. Although this is a manifest and to tbh i´m not sure those are required to have references? =)
 
ChatGPT answer:
Here are the references and quote snippets, matched to the page’s claims:

  • “60,000 AI-generated tracks uploaded every day / 85% fraudulent” — Deezer, Deezer confirms demonetization of up to 85% of AI-music streams due to fraud and moves to sell AI-detection Technology — “over 60,000 AI-tracks are now uploaded per day” and “Up to 85% of all streams on AI-generated music are detected as fraudulent.” (Deezer Newsroom)
  • “75M spam tracks removed by Spotify” — Spotify newsroom, Spotify Strengthens AI Protections for Artists, Songwriters, and Producers — “we’ve removed over 75 million spammy tracks from Spotify.” (Spotify)
  • Thom Yorke / “content for devices” — Noise11, reporting Yorke’s Electronic Sound interview — “art morphed into ‘content’ for devices.” (Noise11.com)
  • “Researchers call it ‘personalised but impersonal’” — ACM CHI 2023 paper — Personalised But Impersonal: Listeners’ Experiences of Algorithmic Curation on Music Streaming Services. (ACM Digital Library)
  • Closest match for the “70% of all listening happens inside playlists” line — Spotify Fan Study — “more than half of new artist discoveries on Spotify happen in programmed playlists.” (Spotify for Artists)
  • Another close playlist reference — Music Business Worldwide, citing Daniel Ek — “over 30% of ‘consumption’ on Spotify takes place due to programmed recommendations.” (Music Business Worldwide)
  • Another close playlist reference — INFORMS paper snippet — editorial playlists “attracting 70% of the audience.” (INFORMS Pubs Online)
  • “It’s created an echo chamber...” — Medium essay, The Algorithm Has Officially Killed the Vibe — “It’s created an echo chamber of an endlessly narrowing set of self-reinforcing sounds.” (Medium)
  • “$1.4B / 18 consecutive years / 44 million vs 33 million” — RIAA 2024 report — “Revenues from vinyl records grew 7% to $1.4 billion – the eighteenth consecutive year of growth” and “vinyl albums outsold CDs in units (44 million vs 33 million).” (RIAA)
  • “highest since 1984” — Engadget on the RIAA report — “the highest figure since 1984.” (Engadget)
  • “204% growth in cassette sales, Q1 2025” — ABC / The Conversation — “cassette sales were up 204.7 per cent in the first quarter of this year.” (abc.net.au)
  • “40% of record buyers don’t own a turntable” — WRAL, citing Futuresource Consulting — “Around 40% of record buyers in the United States don’t own a turntable.” (WRAL News)
  • “Gen Z is driving vinyl” — Headliner / Vinyl Alliance — “Gen Z (18-24-year-olds) is now the major driving force behind vinyl’s current popularity.” (Headliner Hub)
  • “Three in four buy records every month” — Headliner / Vinyl Alliance — “76% of Gen Z vinyl fans buy records at least once a month.” (Headliner Hub)
  • “Nearly a third are die-hard collectors” — Headliner / Vinyl Alliance — “almost 30% declaring themselves a ‘die-hard collector’.” (Headliner Hub)
  • “61% replaced a digital habit with vinyl to feel better” — Headliner / Vinyl Alliance — “61% ... replace digital habits with vinyl listening to improve their mental well-being.” (Headliner Hub)
  • Closest match for the Gen Z purchase-share line — Forbes / Luminate snippet — “Gen Z ... is 27% more likely to purchase vinyl than the average listener.” (Forbes)
  • Adele quote — TIME — “I don’t use streaming. I buy my music. I download it, and I buy a physical [copy]...” (TIME)
  • Closest source for the “285,000 streams = $1,000” line — Spotify support — “Spotify does not pay artist royalties according to a per-play or per-stream rate.” (Spotify)
  • “Bandcamp ... 85 cents of every dollar” — Bandcamp Fair Trade Music Policy — “The remainder, usually 80-85%, goes directly to the artist or their label.” (Bandcamp)
  • Bandcamp average payout wording — Bandcamp About — “an average of 82% of the money goes to the artist or their label.” (Bandcamp)
  • “Bandcamp banned AI-generated music” — Bandcamp, Keeping Bandcamp Human — “Music and audio that is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI is not permitted on Bandcamp.” (Bandcamp Updates)
  • “Music synthesised in the moment” — Magenta RealTime — “interactively create, control and perform music in the moment.” (Magenta)
  • “match your heartbeat / commute / mood” — TIME on Apple’s AI Music acquisition — “dynamic soundtracks that change based on user interaction.” (TIME)
  • Heartbeat version of the same claim — 9to5Mac — “adapts music to your heartbeat.” (9to5mac.com)
 
"Record on the wall" once-upon-a-time actually encompassed physical "content."

IMG_5772.jpeg
 
BlueTunes said:
Don't really get the Anti AI shtick which is currently popular across the net tbh.
Click to expand...
In this case I'm more concerned by the bots being used to divert money from whoever's popular with people to whoever's running the bots. AI happens to be the tool used by those running the bots to generate content that isn't obviously there for fraud.
BlueTunes said:
It smacks of luddism.
Click to expand...
Pretty much. The usual interpretation of Luddism is from the mill owners' point of view, not that of the many skilled weavers the mills displaced, or the fewer poorly paid unskilled workers doing dangerous jobs in the mills, often with a 'company town' model. The complaints about AI are from those being adversely affected, or expecting to be adversely affected. That's not just those losing jobs, but those having to pay more for stuff like RAM, SSDs, GPUs etc. and expecting power and water prices to spike. At the moment nobody seems to be charging enough to make money on AI products - they're selling at a loss to get everyone addicted. Some have been starting to increase the prices, resulting in bill shock and complaints. It remains to be seen whether they can make money at a price customers are willing to pay.
BlueTunes said:
I care not if music is generated by a drug addled loner shooting up in a bedsit or skynet. If I like it then that's good enough.
Click to expand...
Likewise. For example Igorrr's recent videos, with AI being one of the tools used by the production company that had made some of their earlier CGI videos.
 
I honestly believe the spiraling downfall of our species will be accelerated and worsened by the growth of AI.

Therefore I will not do anything to help it along.

The end is inevitable anyway, but I would prefer it to happen after my grandkids have lived not-quite dystopian lives.

Silver lining: our Mother Earth will be so much better off without us
 
BlueTunes said:
Don't really get the Anti AI shtick which is currently popular across the net tbh.

It smacks of luddism.

I care not if music is generated by a drug addled loner shooting up in a bedsit or skynet. If I like it then that's good enough.

The fear is probably one of replacement rather than displacement but that's paranoia imho.

People will always make music.
Click to expand...
I promise you, it is not.

AI is many things, including IP theft writ large, an environmental disaster, hugely dangerous for people in creative industries and the arts in general...
 
dfuller said:
I promise you, it is not.

AI is many things, including IP theft writ large, an environmental disaster, hugely dangerous for people in creative industries and the arts in general...
Click to expand...

Yes to the second part, but see the post above from @somebodyelse re the social movement based on the capriciously maligned apocryphal hero Ned Ludd.
 
Doubt I've listened to any AI created tracks on any of the streaming services. The question is, is Skynet doing their own or is there a human behind it?
 
Interesting to see this at the same time: https://elasticstage.com/ It's press on demand, does delivery and handles payments. My nephew's band just released a record via them, I interested to see what the quality of the record and the cover is like.

A band, for £2,092(25% off for bulk buy of your own record) investment, a band could get 100 copies of their album, sign them and sell them at the back of the gig for 30 quid and make a profit of a grand. Chat up a local record shop, get them on the guest list, give them a couple of records to see if they go and order them from elasticstage.

What's the downside?
 
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AndyMorris said:
Interesting to see this at the same time: https://elasticstage.com/ It's press on demand, does delivery and handles payments. My nephew's band just released a record via them, I interested to see what the quality of the record and the cover is like.

A band, for £2,092(25% off for bulk buy of your own record) investment, a band could get 100 copies of their album, sign them and sell them at the back of the gig for 30 quid and make a profit of a grand. Chat up a local record shop, get them on the guest list, give them a couple of records to see if they go and order them from elasticstage.

What's the downside?
Click to expand...
That is a fantastic service!
 
Not just "potentially" devastating, already well under way. And not just "creatives" but all those involved in research analysis basically all knowledge workers and bureaucratic.

Which is nearly everyone in a nation above blue collar for nations that have consciously (been) de-industrialized over the past 50 years.

There are now hiring platforms for AIs and their agents to hire gig-work humans to be their feet and hands

https://rentahuman.ai

www.wired.com

The Rise of RentAHuman, the Marketplace Where Bots Put People to Work

WIRED spoke with the Zoomer founders of a platform where AI agents hire humans to do real-world tasks. Their pitch: "People would love to have a clanker as their boss."
www.wired.com www.wired.com

The capitalist economies can truly keep wages super low, servants ever more affordable, when the "producing ecomimy" only needs say 5% of the population actually laboring
 
john61ct said:
Not just "potentially" devastating, already well under way. And not just "creatives" but all those involved in research analysis basically all knowledge workers and bureaucratic.

Which is nearly everyone in a nation above blue collar for nations that have consciously (been) de-industrialized over the past 50 years.

There are now hiring platforms for AIs and their agents to hire gig-work humans to be their feet and hands

https://rentahuman.ai

www.wired.com

The Rise of RentAHuman, the Marketplace Where Bots Put People to Work

WIRED spoke with the Zoomer founders of a platform where AI agents hire humans to do real-world tasks. Their pitch: "People would love to have a clanker as their boss."
www.wired.com www.wired.com

The capitalist economies can truly keep wages super low, servants ever more affordable, when the "producing ecomimy" only needs say 5% of the population actually laboring
Click to expand...

The world has changed. Either change with it or die a relic of the past.

It's always been this way and will always be this way.
I say this as someone who's livelihood is directly and presently threatened (terminally) by AI. It's just a matter of time that my career as it stands will cease to effectively exist.
No different than a coal miner coming to the realisation that coal sold cheaper elsewhere puts him out of a job.

As humans we have to move on.
As humans we don't like change and will feel threatened by it but that's just how life is.
Change is dangerous but it's where the potential always resides.
 
BlueTunes said:
Don't really get the Anti AI shtick which is currently popular across the net tbh.

It smacks of luddism.

I care not if music is generated by a drug addled loner shooting up in a bedsit or skynet. If I like it then that's good enough.

The fear is probably one of replacement rather than displacement but that's paranoia imho.

People will always make music.
Click to expand...
You may recall in Orwell's distopian novel '1984' the popular music of the day is composed by computers. The protaganist hears a washer-woman humming one of the tunes and reflects on the implications.

Ofc it's not AI that is the problem it is some of the uses to which it is put.
 
Mart68 said:
You may recall in Orwell's distopian novel '1984' the popular music of the day is composed by computers. The protaganist hears a washer-woman humming one of the tunes and reflects on the implications.

Ofc it's not AI that is the problem it is some of the uses to which it is put.
Click to expand...
Wasn't this a wink to the crushing of any artistic output by big brother as they (artists) are usually free thinkers that don't let fear restrict their art, thus in any authoritarian society, they are feared the most and persecuted to extinction?

I don't think we are in that arena just yet tbh.
 
BlueTunes said:
Wasn't this a wink to the crushing of any artistic output by big brother as they (artists) are usually free thinkers that don't let fear restrict their art, thus in any authoritarian society, they are feared the most and persecuted to extinction?

I don't think we are in that arena just yet tbh.
Click to expand...
Possibly, yes. Long time since I read that book (40 plus years).

I don't think the intention of AI music is to crush free thinking, it's just a way to make easy money. But there could be unintended consequences.
 
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