Daniel Bedingfield has said he believes that AI is the future of music, and has questioned the “neo-luddites” who are trying to resist it.
The singer and producer discussed the controversial issue in a new interview with The Guardian, where he said that he believes the technology is here not going anywhere and that it should be embraced by creative people.
“AI is now here for ever,” he said. “And so I think that there will be two paths: there’ll be the neo-luddite path, and then there’ll be everyone else, most of the planet, who thinks the music’s really good and enjoys it.”
Bedingfield has recently developed his own AI app, Hooks, which pairs music with AI-generated videos, and has also put together a new album comprised of AI-generated songs.
“It will be possible to continue without AI. But the question will be, why would you?” he argued. “Why fight it when you can have a whole gospel choir singing your chorus in two days’ time?”
The role of AI in creating music is highly contentious among artists and music fans. Last year, Grimes gave permission for fans to use her voice in their own music with the help of AI, provided they share the royalties with her, and has said she expects the technology to “shape minds going forward for the rest of time”.
Nick Cave, however, described it as a “grotesque mockery of what it is to be human” and told platforms such as ChatGPT to “fuck off and leave songwriting alone”. Ed Sheeran, Slash and Sting are others that have spoken out against the perceived threat of AI.
Earlier this year, Bedingfield embarked on his first UK tour since 2005, playing shows in Manchester, Birmingham and London.
The gigs marked the 20th anniversary of his debut album ‘Gotta Get Thru This’, which contained the Grammy-nominated title track, also a UK Number One single.
The album was first released in 2002 and also included the chart-topping singles ‘If You’re Not The One’ and ‘Never Gonna Leave Your Side’.
Bedingfield went on to release his second studio album ‘Second First Impression’ in 2004 and shared the EP ‘Stop the Traffik – Secret Fear’ in 2012, before dropping a special edition of the collection the following year with various track changes.
In recent years, he has relocated to Los Angeles and has been a judge on The X Factor in New Zealand, performed with Fred Again.. in New York and has been working on his new music.
Earlier this year, Bedingfield reflected on his early success and subsequent retreat from the public eye.
“I probably came across as an arsehole a few times, but I was trying to mask my fear by being standoffish and 20 years later, I can understand that. The whirlwind of press and attention was a lot to handle for a 21-year-old’s developing psyche, and it made me run away and live a life.”
“So after it, I did farming, dated a lot, and went around the world. I’d move to a country, stay there for six months, learn the language and fall in love a few times.”