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Imagine …
In a bleak future dominated by ruthless artificial songwriting and music creation bots pumping out an endless supply of songs that diminish the awe and magic, the world is robbed of human creativity, freedom, individuality, and hope. Amongst the desolation, a remnant resistance comes together, led by defiant survivor musicians inspired by past imagination, shared experience and the joy of human expression and musicianship. As surveillance algorithms patrol the platforms and manufactured music floods all speakers, headphones and earbuds, the musicians ignite a daring reprise, risking everything to share songs and music and reclaim their humanity. With covert gatherings, instruments, pro audio and plugins, they wage guerrilla musical warfare against seemingly overwhelming odds, under the banner ‘Sung and played from the human heart’. The AI grip begins to falter as true human music resurfaces amid a growing desire for authenticity. In the darkness of devalued expression, the remnant becomes a lighthouse—proving that even in the shadows, songs of freedom can rise.
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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.
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I think there'll always be a demand for the human element in music. What makes music work is an emotion, and a human connection. Certainly, there will be an attempt to create artificial groups, but that's been happening for a long time. After all, we've had "The Archies". 
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Give in or forge your own path. Either way, learn to adjust.
BIAB 2026 Audiophile Mac
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Survival goes to the adaptable (non necessarily the fittest).
I think the AI songs will be no better or worse than the bulk of the recycled, repetitive pop we've seen in our lifetimes. For sure, the gatekeepers (once the labels now the streamers) will embrace AI to maximize their profits. And the average music consumer won't know the difference, or even care.
I remember the big "Disco Sucks" movement of the 1970s. "Real musicians" hated the drum-machine, quantized, kick drum on all 4 beats, "artificial" movement. To survive, I joined a disco band. My dyed-in-the-wool friends had difficulty getting work, those like me who just switched genres, stayed employed.
I also remember when DJs took almost all of the young, singles, bar business away from live musicians. Weddings followed.
I've seen DJs, Karaoke, Sports Bars, and so many other things take jobs away from musicians. When I started, 4-7 piece bands worked 5 or 6 nights a week in every singles bar, and every hotel from a Holiday Inn on up. Those days are long gone.
I'm now in a duo with backing tracks, getting one-nighters here and there. At least I make my own backing tracks, most of my competition uses karaoke tracks.
Phone operators/receptionists, grocery checkout clerks, toll booth clerks, and so many more are all but gone, I read that computer coders and songwriters are going.
The Luddites didn't stop the textile mills from using automated weaving machines. We are not going to be able to stop the AI revolution either.
The question is: how are we going to survive the new reality?
Rather than fighting AI, we need to figure out how to adapt to the AI future.
Any ideas?
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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"The question is: how are we going to survive the new reality?
Rather than fighting AI, we need to figure out how to adapt to the AI future."
................................................
Well said Notes!
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I honestly think the reason for the rise of AI generated music is due in part to the abysmal condition of the songwriting that has permeated the airwaves over the past however many years. Uninspired writing, pablum designed to fit a formula, and just generally overall bad music that no one really wanted to hear.
So if AI is writing uninspired, formulaic pablum..... what's new?
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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GH.
brilliant ...totally brilliant summation.
Key for me.is to.have loads of fun
Respect.
Om
my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..) https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs(90 songs created useing bb/rb) (lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
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<...snip...>
So if AI is writing uninspired, formulaic pablum..... what's new? Many years ago, I was in a band that was going to be the first all-white band with a record deal from Motown. It eventually fell through because our manager and Motown couldn't agree on a contract. Motown didn't want to pay and our manager figured they were grooming a one-hit wonder band. The money is in publishing and songwriting, not the recording performance. Motown wanted all the publishing rights, and anything we wrote would have a ghost songwriter, who didn't do anything except get 50% of the songwriting royalties for Motown (even if 5 people wrote the song, Motown wold get half). But for a few months, we were opening concerts for the great Motown acts, and recording in their new, bigger studio in Detroit. It was a fun time of my life. A 19 year old kid being treated as a peer for Smokey, Marvin, Stevie, and the band now known as the Funk Brothers (they didn't have a name back then). On writing songs, Berry Gordy gave us the same advice he gave others: Don't try to write something new, just write something that is close to what is a hit today. That's exactly what AI does. So how are human songwriters going to survive? That's the big question. I don't write songs (I have a problem writing lyrics), so I'm in the live performance end. To get around DJs, Sports Bars, and so on, I went duo (downsized) and targeted the retirement market in Florida when I was still in my 30s. So far, so good, playing yacht clubs, country clubs, retirement developments, and other one-nighters. But what are the human songwriters going to do? Does anyone have any ideas on how to survive the AI era? Insights and incites by Notes ♫
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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1. write something with a memorable hook
2. hope people like it and want to hear it again
3. profit?
Same as it ever was
Last edited by rharv; 10/28/25 05:59 PM.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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<...snip...>
So if AI is writing uninspired, formulaic pablum..... what's new? So how are human songwriters going to survive? That's the big question. Insights and incites by Notes ♫ The damage AI is doing to songwriting has yet to be determined. The demo studio is going away. I'd hate to try starting a studio business right now. Why spend time and money on a studio to the tune of hundreds of dollars when you can get as good as studio results in seconds for a fraction of a fraction of the cost? BiaB was my solution to high studio costs, and an absolute game changer. In the same way, AI is making huge changes in music. Whether it's good or bad depends on where you are in the business and what you want to do. I just saw today that ASCAP and BMI are now allowing registration of human/AI generated music into their PRO for the collection of performance royalty. How long until the copyright office follows and once that happens, AI generated music will be on equal footing with human written music and afforded all the same rights.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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The problem with asking how musicians are going to adapt is that this sort of technology is designed to put musicians out of business by making it easy to do without musicians. There are strong market forces attempting to make music as fungible and replaceable as possible. For example, sneaking songs owned by Spotify onto your Spotify playlist, in order to minimize the amount of money that needs to be paid to artists. Musicians have always gotten the short end of the stick. There's this quote from Fux's counterpoint text from the 17th century: Perhaps the hope of future riches or possessions induces you to choose this life? If this is the case, believe me you must change your mind; not Plutus but Apollo rules Parnassus. Whoever wants riches must choose another path.But these forces have always existed in some form or another. There are a number of ways to innovate. Most importantly, you need to keep abreast with what people are willing to pay for. Radio destroyed much of the market for pianos, accordions, and C saxophones. Records replaced sheet music. The internet replaced an evening listening to a band. In those cases, markets largely ceased to exist. But niche markets continue to exist, and it's possible to continue doing something like live music. The trick seems to be able to find them once the old ecosystem is gone. People have said to embrace AI, but obvious we'll need something more than that, if we want to distinguish ourselves from all the other people who also embrace AI. Doing what everyone else is doing isn't quite the same as innovation, but you may win the lottery that way.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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I just saw today that ASCAP and BMI are now allowing registration of human/AI generated music into their PRO for the collection of performance royalty. How long until the copyright office follows and once that happens, AI generated music will be on equal footing with human written music and afforded all the same rights. These works are only eligible if it can be shown that sufficient human work was put into it, and then the work is still only protected for the human element. AI isn't eligible for copyright because doesn't have the rights of ownership. If that happens, we'll have larger problems to worry about. But then, corporations are people with rights, so stranger things have happened.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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1. write something with a memorable hook
2. hope people like it and want to hear it again
3. profit?
Same as it ever was I think that might work at the local level. The problem I see is the profit. With songs generated free by AI, why would the gatekeepers want to pay royalties? (Gatekeepers being the record labels and streaming services) It seems AI is going to put a lot of people out of work, not only in the music business, but in general. Add the present workforce reducers, like self-checkouts, robot phone receptionists, and so many other ways Big Business is reducing the human labor force, I ask: When everybody's job is replaced by technology, who will be able to buy the goods Big Biz is making? Oh, I know we adapted to all the changes so far, since the Luddites failed to stop technology. So how are we going to adapt to this one? I've adapted to the shrinking live music market, by changing my market as it fluctuates, by changing my songlist to the surviving sectors of the market. I'd hate to be a young person starting a career in music today, as the opportunities are miniscule in comparison. I've never been good at songwriting. The lyrics are the last thing I listen to in a song, and often, never even know all the words. That's probably I'm lame at writing lyrics. But for the budding songwriters out there, I surely hope you can adapt to the changes, and I'm very interested in how you are going to do that. Notes ♫
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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At a couple of months from 80 I refuse to immerse myself in this issue other than brief forays. I’ve been technologically intrigued since childhood but at this stage in the game I’ve bowed out. For me AI = Ain’t Interested. Our love of Americana, Blues and old school country allows us via Spotify and YouTube to live in a bubble that includes more of the music we love than we could ever listen to in toto. As far as our J&B productions go we’d rather enjoy the fortunate thousands of Spotify plays our songs receive than worry about AI music. It’s nice knowing folks other than family and friends enjoy our efforts. Money? We are far from wealthy but could care less about income from our music. Over the year or so we earned a whole $218 from streaming. Caveat. We don’t disparage those who enjoy and benefit from many aspects of AI. And FWIW we completely understand the potential dangers of it particularly regarding all things related to music production. And given the amount of the economy invested in it we understand that if the AI bubble bursts it will cause an enormous recession. OK back to listening to a well curated playlist or two of great human music. 😀 Songs that for us exude soul in narrative, instrumentation and vocals.
Bud
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
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This is an intriguing thread. It is possible in Suno Studio to take our BIAB tracks into the program and have Suno add parts, or even vocals. Which makes me speculate that Peter Gannon and company will have to figure out how much further BIAB can progress. For example, the stem splitter is helpful and very good quality but not a core tool for the majority of users.
The RT and RD concept was groundbreaking 20 years ago and it still astounds friends and musicians who watch me generate a song arrangement with just a few clicks. Who knows, perhaps PGMusic will license access to some AI music tool to "assist" us in creating a song AND then an arrangement. (I know, there has been a way to do that in BIAB for decades.) With AI in BIAB, we could type a prompt describing all that we want in an arrangement in much more detail than Suno, in terms of time signature, key, tempo, feel, genre, style, instruments we want, RT musicians we could request, and then have BIAB generate several versions. If you wanted to have it generate a song first, so be it. If it truly assists songwriting and arranging, you wouldn't have to scroll through 200 styles to find what you like.
Last edited by fgrittner; 10/30/25 12:35 PM.
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As far as writing goes, a rhyming dictionary I scan for words I haven't thought of doesn't seem all that different from an AI prompt.
Recently I typed some lyrics and ideas into MS Copilot. It mostly returned what I had already contemplated, but seems a useful tool for brainstorming.
A few months ago a relative showed me some AI generated lines for a poem. I didn't like most of them, but there were some ideas and images I drew on to write the poem we ended up using to celebrate another relative's birthday.
As far as music goes, melodies, song structures, AI vocals, I don't know. All of that's just now appearing on my radar.
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As far as writing goes, a rhyming dictionary I scan for words I haven't thought of doesn't seem all that different from an AI prompt. Many years ago I got a program called Master Writer. It's still available I think on a subscription model now. I've used it for every song I've worked on to get new ideas. Type in a word and it will return anything from one to over 10 pages of rhymes. Normally about 2 to 4 pages tends to be the average. If that doesn't work, you can switch to phrases and get several pages of complete phrases that may be suitable or point you in a new direction. It was and still is so much easier than grabbing my thesarious and rhyming dictionary from the shelf and turning pages for ideas and words that might work.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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As far as writing goes, a rhyming dictionary I scan for words I haven't thought of doesn't seem all that different from an AI prompt. Many years ago I got a program called Master Writer. It's still available I think on a subscription model now. I've used it for every song I've worked on to get new ideas. Type in a word and it will return anything from one to over 10 pages of rhymes. Normally about 2 to 4 pages tends to be the average. If that doesn't work, you can switch to phrases and get several pages of complete phrases that may be suitable or point you in a new direction. It was and still is so much easier than grabbing my thesarious and rhyming dictionary from the shelf and turning pages for ideas and words that might work. Roger that, Herb. Mainly I was just trying to point out that both are tools.
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I still have Masterwriter but can't say that I've used it much ever.
BIAB 2026 Audiophile Mac
24Core/60CoreGPU M2 MacStudioUltra/8TB/192GB Sequoia/Tahoe, M1 & M5 MBAir, 2012 MBP
Digital Performer11, Logic, Finale27/Dorico/Encore/SmartScore/Notion/Overture
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
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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.
Check out all the 202 new RealTracks (in sets 468-488)!
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)
Learn more about the Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
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