Comment by juliag2 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by juliag2 | Hacker News Reader

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I tried AI music for the first time today and I can definitely see why people say it feels bland, because it does. But most of what's on the radio today feels bland to me too. You're right - I don't really care if the track playing in my favourite cafe is AI-generated or not. You're not supposed to be emotionally invested into background music, it's music for a simple purpose and for most people, AI can fill that purpose as well as a human. Licensing fees is also a great point, human music royalties are complex and expensive, while AI generated music is a monthly subscription at most.

I can't say I fully agree with you on video game/movie soundtracks, but I think AI generated assets will make game development more accessible, especially for solo developers or small teams.

So I'd just say listen to what you like, see where technology leads us. I don't think human creators will be put out of buisiness any time soon, but they might get competition especially in 'functional' music.

>You're right - I don't really care if the track playing in my favourite cafe is AI-generated or not. You're not supposed to be emotionally invested into background music

I guess different strokes but some of the best music I've ever been turned on to just happened to be playing in some random cafe or coffee shop. Conversely if the music is bland and uninspired I'm much less likely to go back.

Honestly, AI-created music in physical spaces has the potential to be even better than what currently exists. Imagine in real time being able to create a soundtrack that matches the mood and vibe of the current atmosphere. When the crowd is bustling, have the audio match that; tone it down when the night wears on, the people have disbursed. Sometimes you go into a Starbucks late at night in Tokyo and they're blasting Led Zeplin–that's probably not exactly what the audience wants to hear. There is potential, with a slightly dystopian tint to it.

"At that moment, Iran said, when I had the TV sound off, I was in a 382 mood; I had just dialed it. So although I heard the emptiness intellectually, I didn’t feel it. My first reaction consisted of being grateful that we could afford a Penfield mood organ. But then I realized how unhealthy it was, sensing the absence of life, not just in this building but everywhere, and not reacting — do you see?"

Sounds awful. Truly. Living your whole life in the median. Led Zepplin late at night is exactly what I want to hear in a Starbucks in Tokyo becuse it's surpising, exciting. Get out more.

This has been downvoted but I'll heartily second these. Some of my best cafe experiences have been places where the people running it had taste. That meant making good coffee, decorating it well, and of course, playing great music. I've found so many great songs from good cafes. The average yuppie-aesthetic cafe with generic wall art and spotify trending playing is no fun.

Agreed. There is a sandwich place called Jimmy Johns and sometimes they’ll be playing crazy metal music and is kind of fun as long as I’m getting takeout.

Why would you need to generate the music to get that? Just have an AI DJ.

Sounds sort of 'cyberpunk-ish' to me, an AI nightclub. I think I'm neutral on this, but it will be interesting to see what we will do with it.

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