Dr DreIconic hip-hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre has revealed that he views AI as just another tool for musicians and producers, claiming that only those “who have trouble creating” are against it.
Dre shared his outlook in a new interview with his longtime business partner, Jimmy Iovine – the co-founder of Interscope Records – with The New York Times.
“I think the only people that see it as a threat are the people who have trouble creating,” Dre said.
He continued, “I had a discussion with a few people a few days ago. They were against AI, and I’m like, ‘OK, you sound like the person that would have been against the drum machine when it came out.’ Or synthesisers, right? It’s a new tool for creativity.
“Some people are afraid of learning new things. I’m embracing it. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen with this.”
Explaining that he utilises AI technology “as a tool to see what it would do with what I just did” in music, Iovine concurred and shared another example of another artist openly using AI.
“So is Timbaland — another brilliant producer,” Iovine said. “By the way, there’s a lot of closet AI producers out there.”
Last year, Timbaland co-launched the new AI-focused entertainment company, Stage Zero, which also signed its first AI-generated “artist,” TaTa.
Iovine is also “very pro-A.I. in music creation,” he shared in the interview.
“I don’t see the downside at all,” Iovine said. “There will be some crappy music. There’s crappy music now. In the studio, when gifted people have AI, they’re going to make better records.”
In 2023, Jimmy Iovine shared a prediction about AI’s impact on the music industry in an interview with Consequence of Sound.
“I’m not saying it’s good or bad, but I think AI is going to be massive in songwriting on many levels,” he said at the time. “One, on a very basic level, if somebody is stuck and you want to experiment and get an idea. Two, is that not everyone, but too many people today are making records for TikTok.”
The discussion around AI in music is heating up in Australia.
This morning, ARIA confirmed that tracks that are wholly generated with artificial intelligence will not be eligible for the ARIA Charts, but has noted that recordings that use generative AI in a “supporting role” remain eligible for chart placement.
Last year, English outfit HAVEN. made headlines after their song I Run was removed from streaming services following allegations that it was AI-generated.
More recently, local discussions swirled regarding the rework of Madonna's Like A Prayer by Australian producer Josh Fawaz.
Though Fawaz wouldn’t directly respond to these claims and instead noted the technology was used “as a tool" in pursuit of "providing my listeners with good music", AI credits were later added to the track on Spotify.
