This may be a little if track, but other people have been a little off track, so I guess I'm allowed to do it too. So here goes.

As a multi-instrumentalist and someone who has spent a large part of his life playing in numerous bands, and in recording sessions with bands, including bands that I have fronted, I take a lot of joy in playing instrumental tracks myself just because I think it's fun.

However, I have never had a problem with people making music in any other fashion that they would like, even if they just choose to bang on a trash can lid or use banging on a trash can lid loops. What difference does it make, it's a free country.

I am sure that there are many artists out there who are legitimately using all the AI tools at their disposal to come up with something creative, while still trying to stay within the bounds of the law and not deliberately steal from other artists. And I'm sure for many their intentions are good.

I just have not had that many interactions with songwriters who do not play an instrument at some level and use that instrument as they are working through the craft of writing a song. That is not to say there aren't such people out there, I just haven't really mingled with songwriters who aren't musicians as well but that's just me. Again I'm not saying there isn't another way to do it, I'm just saying that's the way most people I know do it.

Also, all of the songwriters that I interact with have some sort of spiritual force inside of them that is trying to express itself in an original way. They actually agonize over the lyrics that they write and the shape and form of the music they create until it reaches a state of perfection and they feel that it is a unique expression of their own 1 and 7 billion personhood.

I think all of them in that group I'm defining would say that AI is absolutely anathema to their artistic personality.

I've even had some of them complain about my use of Band in a Box for backing tracks although I usually play numerous tracks on numerous instruments and synths myself on every song I put out. Some of them think that any use of something that's not real is not legitimate but I think that's a little bit snotty and unrealistic. When I try to explain to them that a backing track is a backing track and I see nothing at all wrong with using band in a box if I can't find a bass player or drummer at any particular moment they still don't understand me. But c'est la vie.

For me, the creation of music is just an avenue for the generation of personal joy. If other people like it and have fun with it that's cool, if they don't like it that's cool too. The main reason I do what I do in music is just because it makes me feel good. And I will just keep on doing it for that reason and no other reason.

And I have no interest whatsoever in surrendering that joy to a computer or a machine.

I would rather play computer video games than do that and I've never played a single video computer game in my entire life.

Just my two cents.

David Snyder
Songwriter/Renaissance Man
Studio + Fingers

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