Artificial intelligence | I would (not so much) wanted to be an artist

Would you like to be an artist?

I admit that I have already been envious as much. Consequently, of the talent as of the life of the musicians that I love. Meanwhile, But today, I look at them differently: admiration is mixed with great concern.

I have been worried even more since the controversy caused by the group The Velvet Sundown. For example, which laid two albums in the space of two weeks last month … Meanwhile, and which has just released a third.

I quickly summarize the controversy.

We learned at the beginning of the month that The Velvet Sundown, listened to these days by more than 1.5 million users of the Spotify platform, does not exist!

His songs – which, my faith, are pretty good; Judge for yourself and you will tell me what you think! Meanwhile, – were produced using artificial intelligence. For example, Like everything else, including the photos of his (false) members.

It’s amazing.

Listen to The Velvet Sundown

The Velvet Sundown has been described as “a synthetic musical project. Nevertheless, guided by a human artistic direction, and composed, interpreted as well as put in images with the support of artificial intelligence”.

Given the quality of this product. Meanwhile, the speed of developments in artificial intelligence, I must artificial intelligence | i would admit that I worry about the future of musical creators in the flesh.

I wanted to know the degree of concern of the Quebec Association of the Disc. Meanwhile, Spectacle and Video Industry (ADISQ) on this subject.

“It is important,” replied the director of public affairs, Simon Claus.

“We are faced with competition. In addition, And one of the first issues is [de savoir] What a market share they will come. Moreover, go for the real artists, ”he explains.

It is all the more worrying that creating music using AI can now be done very quickly.

The creators behind The Velvet Sundown launched three full albums in less than two months!

“It is hyperactivity in the face of which it is difficult to compete for a classic industry. in a context where there is already an extremely important offer,” summarizes Simon Claus.

The French continuous listening platform Deezer has developed a tool that makes it possible. to detect the content produced by artificial intelligence. Last April, it broadcast figures that allow you to better understand the extent of the upheaval.

These figures also hallucinate.

Deezer now receives more than 20. 000 tracks “entirely generated by the AI” each day, artificial intelligence | i would which represents 18 % of all the content put online.

To give you an idea of the speed of current change. the tracks designed using artificial intelligence represented only 10 % of Deezer’s content at the beginning of 2025.

And guess what percentage they reached a year earlier …

“It was almost 0,” said Manuel Moussalam, research director at Deezer, joined in Paris by videoconference.

“Will it reach 50 % in two years?” The problem is that there is no theoretical limit. that is to say that it costs nothing to produce, so we are faced with a mass of content that has no reason to stop, “he explains.

Manuel Moussalam indicates, however, that at Deezer, so far, “it does not come to vampirize listening”.

artificial intelligence | i would

Perhaps. but here I must specify that this platform is distinguished by its stricter policy as to the musical products designed with artificial intelligence.

First, Deezer decided that such songs will never be recommended to users. Second, they are still clearly identified on the platform.

“What bothers us is the massive. automatic generation,” said Deezer’s research director, adding that these rules have been implemented for the sake of “transparency vis-à-vis [des] users ”.

But on Spotify. by far the largest of continuous listening platforms, the pieces of The Velvet Sundown are recommended to users and find themselves in certain reading lists.

Do you feel the floor tremble under the feet of our musicians?

Already. it must be remembered, their income artificial intelligence | i would has drammed dramatically with the dematerialization of the supports and the migration of listeners to continuous listening platforms.

“When we see that The Velvet Sundown has had as many listening to Spotify. we tell ourselves that this is still a capture that comes in an environment that does not drive on gold. We are in a context where many artists are struggling to find a fair remuneration in this digital ecosystem. “confirms Simon Claus.

Let us not forget that if artificial intelligence is so effective in creating music. it is because it has been trained on a large number of existing works.

She cannibalise them, and it is done without obtaining permission from the artists who created them.

This is why. when I approach the subject of potential solutions with artificial intelligence | i would the ADISQ representative, he claims more transparency on the part of the owners of artificial intelligence tools as to the works that were used during training.

According to him. it is also necessary to demand the authorization of artists who hold the rights on these works, as well as their remuneration.

ADISQ would also like all platforms clearly indicate which songs have been designed with artificial intelligence.

“The public has the right to choose which work he wishes to listen to. which artist he wishes to support,” says Simon Claus.

Manuel Moussalam even calls, for his part, to a social debate on the use of AI in the musical universe.

“We are faced with a question that requires that the whole of civil society has artificial intelligence | i would a say on: is it the society that we want to build. is that the kind of works that we want to be able to share,” he says.

I think he’s right.

I also think that the outcome of this debate will be fraught with consequences for artists from here. who probably never needed our support. And, above all, of our listening.

What do you think? Take part in the dialogue