So who is The Velvet Sundown? All characters, stories, music, voices and lyrics are original creations generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools employed as creative instruments. Any resemblance to actual places, events or persons - living or deceased - is purely coincidental and unintentional. Not quite human. Not quite machine. The Velvet Sundown lives somewhere in between.
It's a sad turn of events for songwriters and recording artists.
I think the quality of writing songs by humans could be better than what AI can currently do, but we all know that the quality of the song has nothing to do with its popularity.
I remember the lyrics to this popular song of the disco era:
||: Get up and boogie, Get up and boogie (That's right) Get up and boogie, Get up and boogie (That's right) Get up and boogie, Get up and boogie (That's right) Boogie, Boogie :||
Repeat ad nauseam
Most pop music is recycled simple themes both lyrically and musically, which is what AI does well. Of course, there are and have always been brilliant exceptions.
I'm glad I'm a live performer, and I was born in the 20th century. It'll be interesting to watch what happens now.
I wouldn't call that a breakthrough or a hit. Sure it's getting some streaming activity but I'm sure it'll be short lived.
Possibly mostly out of curiosity. I have to say that I really couldn't watch or listen for very long. It's horrible (IMHO).
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11 BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software. Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts .
Just watching the fingers of the guitarist(s) in the video makes me queasy. Guess I just added to the streaming clicks...
Two days ago I listened to an NPR article by a professional music composer who acknowledged that AI was already better than he was at doing what he does, which was primarily soundtracks. Rather than being freaked out, he seemed awestruck. Wish I could find the link...
DC Ron BiaB Audiophile Presonus Studio One ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM Presonus Faderport 16 Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
I love how the singer has to move over to the mike and the sound remains the same.
To be fair, an awful lot of conventional videos are just as irritating on that issue. Mouth movements vs voice projection mismatches, too.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11 BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software. Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts .
I'm all for AI moving forwards and creating hit records, and of course you can write your own hit as well, but for the majority of writers probably AI will be able to do it better.
Think of the positives, you can be the Colonel Tom Parker manager of your own AI band and reap most of the profits.
Windows 10 (64bit) M-Audio Fast Track Pro, Band in a Box 2025, Cubase 14, Cakewalk and far too many VST plugins that I probably don't need or will ever use
I'm all for AI moving forwards and creating hit records, and of course you can write your own hit as well, but for the majority of writers probably AI will be able to do it better.
Think of the positives, you can be the Colonel Tom Parker manager of your own AI band and reap most of the profits.
I basically agree. If you want to use AI, great, if you don't, that's great too. It's a tool. Personally, I find AI-driven stem separation fantastic. And I find AI in science and technology even more astounding.
For those that oppose it, AI in music production will be here for a long, long time to come. As for the "Corner Bar", I find the video absolutely horrid and cartoonish, and the music only so-so.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
I hope it eventually might create a resurgence in live music and performances, but probably never to the degree it once was.
It made me think - has anyone covered one of the Velvet Sundown's songs yet? They have, and not sure if my mind is playing tricks but the human version sounds good! Youtube - Sons of Legion cover 'Dust on the wind' Andrew D
Whether you like it or not, AI will change things, and to survive, you need to adapt to the changes.
The then future Mrs. Notes and I were in a 5-piece band. We had personnel problems and the cost of living was going, but band pay wasn't. So we decided to be a duo.
Being that I play sax, flute, guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and eventually wind synth, I made backing tracks on a Teac, 4 channel, reel-to-reel tape recorder. We mixed to cassettes and brought a lot of them to the gig. One song per cassette, on a dual cassette deck so I could go from song to song quickly.
Older musicians said I was putting other musicians out of work, and I responded that I was putting two musicians to work. We were playing smaller rooms, and making more per-person than we were in the 5 piece. Plus, we had no personnel problems.
Smaller, better sounding PA gear, MIDI, sequencers, DAWs, mp3s and quite a few other things came and went along the way. Some of the things I tried turned out to be rejects, others keepers.
Survival doesn't strictly go to the fittest, it goes to those who can adapt to the changes.
If I was in the songwriting business, I'd be studying AI. If AI ever invades the live performance arena, I'll jump on it.
"Survival doesn't strictly go to the fittest, it goes to those who can adapt to the changes"
Perhaps this could be put on a T-shirt, and handed out to every high school student at their graduation! In our "snowbird" music group in Arizona, we still have people who insist on using hardcopies and a 3 ring binder instead of a computer or tablet.. It works for them, I sure couldn't do it.
It made me think - has anyone covered one of the Velvet Sundown's songs yet? They have, and not sure if my mind is playing tricks but the human version sounds good! Youtube - Sons of Legion cover 'Dust on the wind'
This is getting interesting. We have: Humans doing covers of human music Humans doing covers of AI music AI bots doing covers of human music
Are we going to see AI bots doing covers of AI music?
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
... This is getting interesting. We have: Humans doing covers of human music Humans doing covers of AI music AI bots doing covers of human music
Are we going to see AI bots doing covers of AI music?
Why not? It's definitely a possibility...
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
I'll never accept that AI can replace a human in any art. Real music is about soul. AI doesn't have it.
True, but a lot of popular music/art has no soul.
I say AI can't produce great art (yet), but people will buy B.S. if they are told it's great art.
I saw a documentary about a woman who, as a gag gift, bought the ugliest picture she could find at a yard sale, and gave it to her friend. It looked like a painter's drop cloth.
Someone told her friend it looked like a Jackson Pollock. So she took it to dealer after dealer, museum after museum, and was told that it wasn't great art as it didn't have the Pollock soul.
She removed the frame and saw a fingerprint, and had that analyzed. Turns out it was Pollock's fingerprint, with the same paint as one of the colors on the painting. All of a sudden, this worthless piece of crap became great art, and she sold it for a huge sum of money.
In the art world, what the influencers say is more important than the work itself. To me, that's a sad state of affairs.
So if a soulless AI or human produced song is told by enough of the right people that it's great art, 90% of the public will believe it's great art.
In this streaming world that we much enjoy anyone can find their musical bubble and live in it. Our Spotify and YouTube bubble includes classic country, classic rock, blues, blues rock, jazz, the big Americana tent and more. Everyday, literally, we discover another artist that we had never listened to and that we now enjoy. It is endless. And other than our hiking and biking time we listen to music constantly. And to our ears our choice of music has soul ... human soul. No matter how exponentially AI music expands we simply will not be part of it nor worry about it.
On a side note we are amazed at the amount of folks who don't stream and constantly complain about not finding the music they desire. Oh and we have enough vinyl to fill two tall shelves and hundreds of CD's and cassettes. They hold no interest for us other than the historical perspective - some date back to the 1920's and others are rare 60's albums. We'd rather live in our music streaming bubble than to worry about these things. And we have ZERO intent of disparaging the folks who do amazing work with programming synth vocals, etc. Nor do we want to disparage those who follow with fascination all of these changes. Outside of music there are a few AI experiences we enjoy. Our google photos account contains 12,000+ photos and their AI search engine is amazing and efficient at finding a photo via a quick description. So I'm not a total curmudgeon. Although at a few months from 80 I reckon I'm allowed a bit of one. But it's OK to come in my yard. Pardon the marginally on topic ramble.
Bud
Last edited by Janice & Bud; 07/26/2507:33 AM.
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
Unlike you and Janice, I'm tending to go backwards, to old music. An old genre, anyway. Symphonies, from the Romantic era onward.
We are going to a concert to hear Shostakovich's 6th Symphony, plus a world premiere (new work) by R. Michael Daugherty.
I still gig for a living, so I get my rock, blues, country, soca, reggae, and other fix by playing them. I still listen to jazz, but after so many decades of that, much of it doesn't tickle me the way it used to. ON the other hand, there are a few outstanding new ones that can grab me.
But symphonies are so complex that even after listening to the same one, if it is a good one, hundreds of times, I can still hear something new.
Example, Dvorak's 9th. In the final movement there is a place where he combines two major themes for the melody, fragments of another for the bass, and another for the countermelody. And he did it so well, that I discovered that after hearing it scores of times.
But the point is, I don't care if AI writes the music or not. If AI came up with a symphony that moves my soul, I wouldn't reject it, but enjoy it.
However, AI is in its infancy now, but like all technology, it will get better--and quickly.
For me, there are two kinds of music: 1) Music I like 2) Music for someone else's ears
I really don't care who or what wrote or performed it, if I like it, I like it.
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac - Special Offers End at 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th, 2026!
Order before 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th and SAVE up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 for Mac Upgrade packages... and that's not all! With your version 2026 for Mac purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks... that's 222 NEW RealTracks available with version Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac!
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® today for as little as $49! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all available purchase options.
Learn more about the Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK here.
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202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
The 2026 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2026 49-PAK!
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
With your version 2026 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!
All of our XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs are on sale until May 15th, 2026!
It's the perfect time to expand your Band-in-a-Box® style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs. These additional styles for Band-in-a-Box® offer a wide range of genres designed to fit seamlessly into your projects. Each style is professionally arranged and mixed, helping enhance your songs while saving you time.
What are XPro Styles and Xtra Styles PAKs?
XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-10 includes 1,000 styles!
Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 includes 3,700 styles (and 35 MIDI styles)!
The XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs are not included in any Band-in-a-Box® package.
The XPro Styles PAKs 1-10 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
The Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the Xtra Styles PAK Bundle for only $199 (reg. $349)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
Note: XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 19 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version as they require the RealTracks included in the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Supercharge your Band-in-a-Box today with XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAK Sets!
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
Whether you're exploring new features, checking out the latest RealTracks or Style PAKs, this is your go-to guide for Band-in-a-Box® 2026.
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac is here and it is packed with major new features! There’s a new modern look, a GUI redesign to all areas of the program including toolbars, windows, workflow and more. There’s a Multi-view layout for organizing multiple windows. A standout addition is the powerful AI-Notes feature, which uses AI neural-net technology to transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI—entire mixes or individual instruments—making it easy to study, view, and play parts from any song. And that’s just the beginning—there are over 100 new features in this exciting release.
Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac and save up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special offer—available until May 15, 2026. Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page to explore all available upgrade options.
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
Our Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK are loaded with amazing add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is included with most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac packages, but you can unlock even more—including 20 unreleased RealTracks—by upgrading to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49.
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