Journal 003: Who Will Protect the Creatives?

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

I've had this thought sitting in my head for months.

The more I think about it, the more I believe it's one of the biggest conversations our industry needs to have.

Everyone is talking about AI.

Some people are excited.

Some people are terrified.

Personally, I think we're asking the wrong question.

The question isn't...

"Can AI make music?"

We already know the answer.

It can.

The better question is...

When AI becomes good enough, who decides whether human creativity is still worth paying for?

Because that's where things get interesting.

Let's imagine you're running a sync company.

A TV production.

An advertising agency.

A content studio.

You need music.

Historically, you'd commission a composer or license a track from a producer.

Now imagine an AI platform can generate something "good enough" in seconds for a fraction of the price.

Maybe it isn't perfect.

Maybe another producer could point out everything that's wrong with it.

But here's the uncomfortable truth...

The audience probably won't.

Most consumers aren't listening like producers.

They're watching the programme.

Following the story.

Feeling the emotion.

The music simply needs to do its job.

And if AI keeps improving, that gap between "good enough" and "excellent" becomes smaller every year.

That's the part that fascinates me.

Because eventually...

Technology won't be the biggest question.

People will.

The person sitting behind the budget.

The person signing off the project.

The person choosing where the money goes.

They'll have a decision to make.

Do they save money?

Or do they continue investing in human creativity?

Not because they have to.

Because they choose to.

That's a very different world from the one we've known.

For years, hiring creatives wasn't just the preferred option.

It was often the only practical one.

Now that's changing.

And it won't just affect producers.

It'll affect composers.

Sound designers.

Voice actors.

Session musicians.

Editors.

Writers.

Designers.

Photographers.

Filmmakers.

Pretty much anyone whose work can be replicated, even imperfectly, by technology.

That doesn't mean creativity disappears.

Far from it.

I actually believe human creativity becomes even more valuable.

But economically...

Things become more complicated.

Because businesses don't only make decisions based on quality.

They also make decisions based on budgets.

Margins.

Deadlines.

Efficiency.

That's reality.

None of this means I think we should stop creating.

Quite the opposite.

I think it's a reminder that we need to create things that feel unmistakably human.

Things with perspective.

Emotion.

Taste.

Personality.

Stories.

Things that can't simply be prompted into existence.

But I also think we need to be honest with ourselves.

The music industry is changing.

Not slowly.

Quickly.

The relationship between creatives and the businesses that hire them is changing too.

The choices companies make over the next few years won't just shape their own businesses.

They'll shape the future of ours.

Maybe I'm wrong.

Maybe human creativity will always win.

I genuinely hope it does.

But if there's one thing I'm certain about...

The conversation shouldn't be about whether AI can make music.

It should be about whether we, as an industry, continue choosing to value the people behind it.

Maybe the future isn't about choosing between AI and human creativity.

Maybe it's about choosing what kind of creative economy we want to build.

Because once we stop investing in people, we shouldn't be surprised when there are fewer people left to create.

The tools will keep improving.

Technology always does.

The bigger question is whether our values improve alongside it.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Not because I think I have all the answers.

But because I genuinely believe this is one of the defining conversations of our generation as creatives.

—

Raff Di Renzo

Founder, Eleven One One Audio

"Technology can change how we create. It should never stop us valuing those who do."