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AI-generated artistes break through in country music

A I-GENERATED singers routinely rank among the top-streamed country music artistes in the US – a trend that, for now, is limited to a genre that industry observers fear is becoming too formulaic. Breaking Rust, Cain Walker, Aventhis and Outlaw Gospel have more in common than cowboy hats, denim and leather. They are all completely computer-generated, from their faces to their melodies. And they are all hitmakers. “That’s a phenomenon I didn’t see coming. I thought AI was going to be curing cancer or something,” said Jennie Hayes Kurtz of the country music band Brother and The Hayes. Many of the AI country tunes tap into the genre’s archetype of the lone cowboy: A rugged, taciturn, plain spoken man who, above all, refuses to apologise for simply existing. Lyrics are delivered in raspy, gravelly voices that sound as authentic as the real thing. “It’s scary as songwriters,” said Kassie Jordan, who forms the singing duo Blue Honey with her husband Troy Brooks. “We are starting to see a lot of people just putting words into these chatbots and it is writing songs for them. As a songwriter, it’s kind of like, is anyone going to even think I really wrote this?” she said. Berklee College of Music professor Joe Bennett noted that a sampling of AI singers suggests that the words used to “prompt” AI songs were “not particularly detailed”. None of the producers behind AI generated music projects responded to AFP’s requests for comment. So how did AI find a place in a genre that is fundamentally rooted in the human experience and storytelling, blending folk, blues and even gospel influences? For Bennett, the emergence of modern country music in the early 2000s – with a highly polished, more pop sound and repeated “melodic shapes” – is key. JAPAN’S most famous monster recently thundered into CinemaCon in Las Vegas as cinema-owners got their first look at Godzilla Minus Zero , which sees the creature rampage through New York. Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, the offering from Japan’s Toho studio is a sequel to 2023’s Godzilla Minus One , which became an international sensation with a box office haul of US$116 million (RM458 million) as it bagged an Oscar for visual effects. Yamazaki told cinema-owners: “The immense scale and terror of Godzilla , as well as the human struggle to survive... (is) going to push your screens and your audiences to their limits.” The film – which hits US cinemas on Nov 6 and stars Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe – is set in 1949, two years after the events of Minus One . It picks up the story of the Shikishima family as they face an even tougher challenge. “Japan was driven down to minus by Godzilla’s attack. People struggled to rise again and move toward the future. The journey from minus to zero will not be easy,” Yamazaki said. Yamazaki, who also wrote the

Beyonce and Post Malone win fans and sell albums with their crossover efforts. Last year, country stars Morgan Wallen and Zach Bryan were both in the top 10 most streamed artistes on Spotify. Some in the industry believe country’s rebirth signifies a dulled down formula designed to appeal to the widest possible audience. “The lyrics aren’t as deep as they used to be. A big portion of popular country music has become kind of shallow, so that is pretty easy to duplicate,” Jordan said. Bennett says the industry must do a better job of identifying AI generated music, noting that Deezer is the only major streaming platform to clearly label such material. “We need AI detection. “It will happen, and there is a consumer demand for it,” Bennett said. Hayes Kurtz said there is a large audience of “passive” listeners who do not care whether music is made by AI, but there are also “active listeners” who attend concerts, buy band merchandise and deeply respect the integrity of the artistes. “That audience seems to really care if the music is made by the actual humans they are going to see,” Hayes Kurtz said. Jordan said she remains optimistic about the future. “There’s another wave of country artistes that are coming that is really into doing it the old-school way and showing emotion. That will be harder for AI to duplicate. That might save the genre,” she said.

o Human performers lament genre’s shift to easy-to-replicate formula

Some in the industry believe country’s rebirth signifies a dulled-down formula designed to appeal to the widest possible audience. – 123RFPIC

Following in the footsteps of country-turned-pop megastar Taylor Swift, today’s headliners are more likely to sport baseball caps than wide Stetsons. Their music breaks genre boundaries, while artistes such as

AI models could become adept at replicating such a sound, when fueled with those elements, he explained. ‘Superficial’ Once overshadowed by rap and

Latin music, and hindered by the industry’s shift to digital music formats, country music has nevertheless staged a comeback thanks to a generation of artistes with stronger pop, not folk, sensibilities.

Cinema owners welcome back an old friend as Godzilla sequel unveiled

screenplay, offered a behind-the scenes look at the production, along with clips featuring scenes of destruction and the arrival of the imposing monster in New York. The Japanese director said Godzilla was at home on the big screen. “ Godzilla was born in cinemas in Japan in 1954 and for over 70 years, its legacy has been deeply and powerfully tied to the theatrical experience – the overwhelming scale seen on the giant screen and that roar that shakes your seats. Godzilla becomes Godzilla when experienced in the cinema.” Warner Bros slate Attendees at the annual get-together also got their first look at the slate of upcoming releases from indie dis tributor Neon. The company – which handled the Oscar-winning films Parasite and Anora - announced it would release Hope this year, a South Korean sci-fi thriller starring Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander. It also has I Love Boosters in the pipeline – a film by Boots Riley about a gang of clothing thieves, likely to become a fashionista event in

Interpreter Michael McNamara (left) and Yamazaki present the movie Godzilla Minus Zero in Las Vegas, Nevada. – AFPPIC

unveiling of the Warner Bros slate. The legacy studio is the subject of a mega bid from rival Paramount Skydance, which has sent ripples of concern through an industry wary of consolidation and fearful for the future. – AFP

cinemas, as well as the thriller A Place in Hell , which features Michelle Williams and Daisy Edgar-Jones as rivals at a law firm. Adam Scott ( Severance ) joined the studio’s presentation to unveil a first look at his film Hokum , in which he

plays a writer who stays at a haunted hotel while searching for his parents’ ashes. The film, which premieres in the US in May, is directed by Damian McCarthy ( Oddity , Caveat ). The day’s main event was the