As music created by artificial intelligence continues to rise, so does the rightful push back by actual human artists who are putting in the work (and getting ripped off by having their creations used as a learning tool for AI). The latest to stand up to AI music is the much-beloved Metal Archives website, who have issued a statement saying they're banning any AI metal from being listed on their site.
"Recently, there has been a noticeable uptick in the number of bands being submitted to the site which have AI generated music," wrote Metal Archives administrator Derigin. "We want to make it clear what our position is on these bands, and how we plan to move forward in assessing them.
"It went without saying, at least up until now, that when we imagined growing the largest and most complete database of metal music, part of that vision was the preservation of art and human expression through music. Until AI, that was a given. The music described on the site is, in some way, played, programmed, and composed by a human being. That still remains an important criterion for us, and it is our belief that AI generated music does not satisfy that requirement.
"With the above in mind, we won't be accepting bands with AI generated albums, and we will scrutinize more thoroughly submissions suspected of having AI generated music.
"For those users submitting bands, if you have a band suspected of having AI generated music, we may call upon you to provide evidence to prove otherwise, whether it's behind-the-scenes material, statements from the band or its label, evidence the band played live, promotional material showing the band is genuine, and so on. The more evidence we have to show that such a band is real, and its music composed by a human being, the better. Our goal isn't to make this harder on you, or anyone for that matter, but we do want to stay true to our vision for the site.
"This policy isn't perfect and is a work-in-progress which may evolve over time. We know there will be some bands with AI generated music mistakenly added to the site, and we also know mistakes can be made and bands without AI generated material may be flagged for having AI generated music. With your help, we hope to avoid this as much as possible."
Someone ought to tell that one dude from Hour Of Penance. It'll be interesting to see how this extends to AI-generated artwork as well, considering the use from high-profile bands like Deicide and Pestilence in recent months.
