Originally Posted by Matt Finley
I’m more disturbed that someone could reconstruct a big band.

If that is true, then everything ever posted in the User Showcase should offend you, as people are "reconstructing" bands to back them. "Reconstructing" bands is exactly what this software is intended to do. There are styles that specifically state "Big Band", which I know because I used it to do "As Long As You're Gone."

I actually wish I knew somebody who did this deep fake process because the aforementioned song was made in the style of Sinatra, as well as my song "I Hope Somebody Cries" was done to channel my inner Johnny Cash. I would love to hear those songs sung by the artists I had in mind when I wrote them.

This AI technology is actually an opportunity for musicians with no band to have one. Isn't that exactly what PG music says when they market their product? The vocals in the AI deep fakes are astoundingly accurate and the nerd side of me absolutely loves it. The Fairlight CMI had the technology to sample vocal characteristics and sing lyrics you typed in with that voice. It was rarely used to my knowledge but I once booked an hour of studio time just to get a demo of the Fairlight and saw it used. (The guy ended up not charging me for the hour. He was actually proud of the flex opportunity to say "I have a Fairlight.")

As to the "disrespectful" aspect.... please. Respect is earned. I OWE nobody respect and nobody owes it to me.

And to take that "faking it" aspect one step further, you could also say that every band in the 60s and 70s was faking it by using The Wrecking Crew, which you could also say was the humanized version of what we now call AI generated music. Was The Wrecking Crew disrespecting the musicians they replaced on every song recorded over 25 years, which not by word but by deed implied "We are better than you. You all suck."? How do you think Peter Tork felt when he showed up with his bass to record and they told him "We don't need you today. We got this covered. You can just go home. We got it."

"Disrespect" is a nonsense word like "empower". Empowered implies that you need permission to do something. I am empowered to do anything I want to do. "We are going to empower children to learn about this." whatever "this" is. They are already "empowered" to learn it. They just don't do it.

So, disrespectful to Sinatra? No.

I guess David Seville was disrespectful to chipmunks! LOL!!!

I am using the new 1040XTRAEZ form this year. It has just 2 lines.

1. How much did you make in 2023?
2. Send it to us.