As Talent Is Timeless enters its milestone fifth year, we’re facing questions that songwriters of previous generations never had to consider. When does technological assistance cross the line from being a tool to becoming something that fundamentally changes the nature of songwriting itself? And more broadly, is this separation of AI and human creativity a sign of things to come across all creative fields?
The music industry has always evolved with technology. From multi-track recording to synthesizers, from drum machines to digital audio workstations, each innovation has been met with both excitement and concern. But AI presents unique challenges that go beyond anything we’ve seen before.
Let’s be honest about what’s at stake. A song created primarily through AI can simulate emotional depth without the years of lived experience that typically inform songwriting. It can mimic styles and create convincing melodies without the countless hours of practice, the late nights struggling with lyrics, or the hard-won mastery of an instrument. This raises profound questions about authenticity and artistic truth.
Consider the human connections we’ve built through Talent Is Timeless. Our community of over 18,000 songwriters shares not just music, but life stories, struggles, triumphs, and genuine emotional experiences. When AI enters this space, it can create a facade of connection that feels hollow once the truth is known.
However, we must also acknowledge that technology, including AI, can be a valuable tool for creative expression. Many of our members already use digital tools like Band in a Box for backing tracks, or pitch correction to polish their vocals. These tools have become standard parts of the modern songwriter’s toolkit. The question isn’t whether to use technology, but how to use it transparently and ethically. We believe AI-assisted music can be valid and valuable as its own art form, but it should not be presented as something it’s not.
“I love what this conversation raises, I’m so excited about it. The real nub of it for me is that it points out that no matter how imperfect you feel you are – your voice, looks, songs, guitar playing – whatever. It’s still much more special than a perfect performance by a robot. I’m unusual for a musician in that I barely ever listen to recorded music. What I value is live music. Performed in an unrepeatable real moment, live. Even when I record my albums, we seek to capture that ‘live’ energy by recording the majority of it as a live session.
People are gonna hate me for this, but I once conducted a £95,000 experiment about on this by accident (before you come for me with pitchforks – this was covered by the record deal). I recorded my album ‘Where Are We Heading’ track by track during the lockdown at Abbey Road Studios with top musicians. The executive producer wasn’t happy with it, and we re-recorded the entire album 3 more times to completion (hence the cost). One of the times we recorded it live, inside Studio 3, where all the musicians could play at once. We have since blind tested two versions of the album – the one performed live, and the one recorded track by track. You can think of this as either a photograph of a live scene, capturing the creativity and imperfections, vs a paint by numbers piece.
Not a single person has ever said that the ‘paint by numbers’ version was better. That was a definitive moment for me. I have never recorded track by track for my own artist profile again, preferring instead to bring in players who equally value live creativity, and want to capture an energy rather than a perfect performance. That’s what you’re hearing on all my latest tracks. Live, joyful, imperfect, real recordings.
I suspect the conversation around AI music and songs will make it very clear to people that ‘real’ and ‘flawed’ is preferable to ‘polished’ and ‘inauthentic’. I’m not saying we can’t use tech tools – I love them and use them every day, but there is one realm where they are not for me and that’s the realm of relationships and life. “– Saskia Griffiths-Moore, Talent Is Timeless.
Our solution? For our annual contest, we’re creating a dedicated AI category. This decision serves two purposes: it provides a legitimate space for AI-assisted creativity while preserving the integrity of our traditional categories. It’s like creating separate wings in an art gallery – each valuable in its own right, but distinctly different in nature.
This is our appraoch for the 5th annual Talent Is Timeless contest:
We’re creating a separate category for AI-assisted songs in our competitions
We’re requiring clear disclosure of AI use in all submitted works
We’re maintaining our traditional categories for human-created songs
This approach allows us to embrace new technology while preserving the integrity of traditional songwriting.
What constitutes AI assistance? Here’s our current thinking:
Using Band in a Box or similar tools for backing tracks: Acceptable in traditional categories
Basic audio processing and pitch correction: Acceptable in traditional categories
AI-generated melodies, lyrics, or complete songs: Must be entered in the AI category
AI voice synthesis or extensive vocal processing: Must be entered in the AI category
We want to hear from our community about these guidelines. How do you use technology in your songwriting? Where do you think the lines should be drawn?
“While AI promises the creators tools to greatly streamline the process of creation, amplifying their inspiration and making hitherto complicated tasks a breeze, I’d rather keep the actual creation of music within the human realm. Music for me music is about authentic story telling, human relationships and gaining an insight into things the word or thought alone cannot grasp. And that, in my mind is a uniquely human domain, for now.” – Kris Gorksi, Producer
For our monthly challenges, we’re taking a more exploratory approach. We’ll welcome AI-assisted songs alongside traditional entries, requiring only clear labeling of AI involvement. This mirrors how we previously evolved to distinguish between new and catalogue songs – allowing the community’s needs to guide our categorization naturally.
The reality is that this separation between human and AI-created work may become the new normal across all creative fields. Just as Olympic sports have different categories for different classes of competition, creative endeavors might evolve to explicitly distinguish between purely human-created works and those with significant AI assistance.
But here’s what technology can never replicate: the electricity of performing to a live audience, the genuine connection between artist and listener, the shared human experience that makes music so powerful. You can have a million AI listeners or bot farms that stream your music, but they’ll never equal the impact of even having just one person in the audience, really listening to you.
Remember, the heart of Talent Is Timeless has always been about authentic creative expression by songwriters over 50. As we navigate these new waters, we’re committed to maintaining that authenticity while embracing the possibilities that new technology brings.
We can be curious about AI’s creative potential while still honoring the irreplaceable value of human creativity and connection. After all, even when we’re playing with AI tools, it’s still humans making the creative choices, humans sharing their stories, and humans forming relationships around this new form of expression. Whether a song is created with an acoustic guitar or the latest AI tool, it’s the human heart behind it that truly matters.
Let’s continue this conversation together, openly and honestly. Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.
AI and Music Technology: Drawing Lines in the Sand
I refer you to the words of my song in this month’s challenge:
I don’t write letters anymore, but Music I’m writing to you
I just want to say I’m grateful, but a little worried too
You’ve been around forever, since the dawn of time
And I don’t want to see you getting hurt by something called AI
You gave prehistoric man his drums and his flute
You gave the Greeks and Romans the lyre and the lute
You’ve been in every country, and you’ve stood the test of time
And I don’t want to see you getting hurt by something called AI
Craftsmen have improved their skills and they’ve refined their art
Striving for the perfect sound from pianos and guitars
And all the other instruments have developed over time
And I don’t want to see you getting hurt by something called AI
Composers pour their hearts into creating something new
Musicians spend years, perfecting what they do
Players and performers give freely of their time
And I don’t want to see you getting hurt by something called AI
You’ve given my life a soundtrack, every step of the way
You’ve brought me joy, you’ve brought me peace, more than I can say
You’ve given me a purpose, in more recent times
And I don’t want to see you getting hurt by something called AI
Dear Music, be aware that it’s now a changing game
You need to see that things will never be the same again
Maybe I should understand that we’re in different times
But I don’t want to see you getting hurt by something called AI
No I don’t want to see you getting hurt by something called AI
Very interesting blog, thank you for sharing, it’s certainly clarified my thoughts on this. There have been discussions among some of about using ChatGPT for bios and web content. That’s a stable door that can now never be rebolted… if there’s a future where AI makes all the music, that’s more than worrying!
I am so grateful for everything Tist does, but I am so confused by this decision and the rationale. I feel like it’s really important for me to speak up, especially since you asked for input. There is so much more at stake than mentioned in this article. Writing Songs with AI seems completely different to me than auto-tuning or apps like band-in-the box that create rough arrangements for songs to help demo songs. Using apps to suggest chord progressions is not AI? Is it? It’s different and it’s not writing a song. Distorted or extensively worked vocals seems entirely different than AI created words and melody. Using technology support a song that your wrote is so entirely different than using AI to build melody and lyrics (because they are using a database built on other artists work and the ethics of that has not been worked out) What am I missing? When the challenge is to write a song, it shouldn’t matter if you used an app to create a demo track, you still wrote the song. If you heavily edit a vocal, you still the song. But if you use AI to write a song, you didn’t write the song. Right?
to me there is an ethical problem with AI and that is it is built on other artist’s work without their permission and songwriters should be fighting this. Why encourage AI and bring ti to the forefront before we figure out how to protect songwriters?
I appreciate and love what Saskia and her team have created here at Talent Is Timeless.
Is talent a myth? Are certain people born with a natural talent and never need to work to hone their craft? Very unlikely. Masts of a craft have spent thousands of hours of deliberate practice and learning to develop their skills.
AI is a topic up for much debate and it won’t go away. It’s important to learn what is out there and how tools and tech can aid and help in all aspects of life. I would never wish to deprive anyone the joy of creating songs with AI if that is their choice. Tech is great for development and tools but I don’t feel it is appropriate for generating lyrics or melodies.
In a strong community of songwriters and musicians and producers, many of us have spent all those thousands of hours honing our craft. I studied for a music performance degree, I have attended many songwriting retreat and workshops.
Through each of these journeys I have been in tears, feeling not accepted or good enough. Yet these embers inside me needed to be ignited. I felt the burn and pushed myself to learn. Where was I going wrong? Why were my songs so damn weird? I was lost and bewildered and hurt.
So I studied more, I attended and joined more songwriting courses and communities. I had private mentoring. Slowly the flames were flickering. I felt proud of the songs I was writing. I finally felt I could go out and perform these songs without those odd looks.
My reward? In July 2021, I got to perform at my rock idol,s private party. That fire inside was roaring and I felt euphoric.
This is Saskia and her teams’ decision to include AI in the song competition. To me it seems to devalue the art and craft of songwriting. What is the award for AI based on? This doesn’t seem to align with the nurturing and encouragement of songwriting and collaboration that Talent Is Timeless are known and loved for.
I appreciate we are all doing this for different reasons and there is no wrong or right. Everyone’s idea of success is different and what each of us wants from a song is different. For me personally I would never be where I am now had I used AI. I have learnt from and been inspired by humans and their hearts and soul. Imagine a time where we attend songwriting retreats and we are all plonked in front of our screens for a session with AI?
I don’t like or agree with the decision to include AI in the competition and would vote against it. Yet here it is, in all its glory so I can only now wish every entrant the best of luck in the competition.
Hi Razale, I just wanted to say thank you for sharing your songwriting journey with such honesty and heart. From your music degree to performing at your rock idol’s party – it’s an inspiring path you’ve carved! Your dedication to the craft through thousands of hours of learning, practicing, and pushing through those moments of self-doubt resonates deeply with me and I’m guessing most people here have faced similar doubts at various times.
I see that your perspective on AI comes from a place of profound respect for songwriting as an art form, and I value and respect that. You’re absolutely right – there’s no replacement for the human experience, emotion, and dedication that goes into crafting songs the traditional way.
As you know, our core mission has always been celebrating creativity in later life, and that remains unchanged. The AI category exists separately to encourage exploration and discussion around these new tools, while our traditional categories continue to honor and celebrate the craft you’ve devoted yourself to.
Anyway, thank you for being part of our community and for engaging so thoughtfully with this topic, even while disagreeing! And maintaining respect for your fellow songwriters.
Hello Everyone. I am a new member as of today and I have been invited to contribute to this conversation. Even though my career took me other places during my life, music has always been a big part of my life. I am a classical guitarist, music festival producer, music producer, standup comic and more. I am a founding board member of a veteran organization titled “Operation Song”. We interview war veterans and Gold Star Family and write a song for them about their experiences. Today I operate my own project writing songs for PTSD war veterans.
I am 75 years young now and I am 100% disabled. It is no longer possible for me to perform my instruments. Even though I couldn’t play my guitar during the past decade or more, I continued to write verse and poetry. I have authored 25 books, some of which are my poetry books. For years there was a void in me because I was missing the musical element of my life. Continuing to write lyrics helped a lot, but I was missing the tunes. I was struggling.
Then came AI into the picture. I resisted using AI to create my music because I thought it was cheating. “This is not art and creativity. This is science and technology.”, I kept telling myself. I refused to even consider the possibility of using AI to create my music. I would feel like a traitor. I continued writing lyrics tho.
Then, one day, I looked at my files of poems and song lyrics I had written over the years. I had thousands. I had a void in my life of creating music, so I decided to take a look at AI. I heard an AI produced song and I was impressed with the results. I started studying the technology of AI music production and realized I could do this.
I started singing and humming the melodies until I got a sore throat. Then I bought a small electronic keyboard to key the melodies and harmonies. I control the genre of the music, the BPM, the key, vocal selection, rhythm, back up singers, instruments used and more. I can arrange the song, insert solo interludes, assign the finale and a lot more. I feel I have full control over the song and it is satisfying for me. AI has turned out to be an effective instrument replacement for me.
I have been able to produce 20 albums and 693 tracks of music in about 3 months because I had already written the lyrics. I understand every musicians opinion and fears of replacement with AI because I am a musician also. I get it. But for me personally, AI has been a convenient solution to my disabilities and inabilities to perform my instruments. I am very pleased that Talent Is Timeless has decided to add an AI category. That gives me motivation and confidence that my AI creations are legitimate and accepted to some degree.
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I refer you to the words of my song in this month’s challenge:
I don’t write letters anymore, but Music I’m writing to you
I just want to say I’m grateful, but a little worried too
You’ve been around forever, since the dawn of time
And I don’t want to see you getting hurt by something called AI
You gave prehistoric man his drums and his flute
You gave the Greeks and Romans the lyre and the lute
You’ve been in every country, and you’ve stood the test of time
And I don’t want to see you getting hurt by something called AI
Craftsmen have improved their skills and they’ve refined their art
Striving for the perfect sound from pianos and guitars
And all the other instruments have developed over time
And I don’t want to see you getting hurt by something called AI
Composers pour their hearts into creating something new
Musicians spend years, perfecting what they do
Players and performers give freely of their time
And I don’t want to see you getting hurt by something called AI
You’ve given my life a soundtrack, every step of the way
You’ve brought me joy, you’ve brought me peace, more than I can say
You’ve given me a purpose, in more recent times
And I don’t want to see you getting hurt by something called AI
Dear Music, be aware that it’s now a changing game
You need to see that things will never be the same again
Maybe I should understand that we’re in different times
But I don’t want to see you getting hurt by something called AI
No I don’t want to see you getting hurt by something called AI
Very interesting blog, thank you for sharing, it’s certainly clarified my thoughts on this. There have been discussions among some of about using ChatGPT for bios and web content. That’s a stable door that can now never be rebolted… if there’s a future where AI makes all the music, that’s more than worrying!
I am so grateful for everything Tist does, but I am so confused by this decision and the rationale. I feel like it’s really important for me to speak up, especially since you asked for input. There is so much more at stake than mentioned in this article. Writing Songs with AI seems completely different to me than auto-tuning or apps like band-in-the box that create rough arrangements for songs to help demo songs. Using apps to suggest chord progressions is not AI? Is it? It’s different and it’s not writing a song. Distorted or extensively worked vocals seems entirely different than AI created words and melody. Using technology support a song that your wrote is so entirely different than using AI to build melody and lyrics (because they are using a database built on other artists work and the ethics of that has not been worked out) What am I missing? When the challenge is to write a song, it shouldn’t matter if you used an app to create a demo track, you still wrote the song. If you heavily edit a vocal, you still the song. But if you use AI to write a song, you didn’t write the song. Right?
to me there is an ethical problem with AI and that is it is built on other artist’s work without their permission and songwriters should be fighting this. Why encourage AI and bring ti to the forefront before we figure out how to protect songwriters?
I appreciate and love what Saskia and her team have created here at Talent Is Timeless.
Is talent a myth? Are certain people born with a natural talent and never need to work to hone their craft? Very unlikely. Masts of a craft have spent thousands of hours of deliberate practice and learning to develop their skills.
AI is a topic up for much debate and it won’t go away. It’s important to learn what is out there and how tools and tech can aid and help in all aspects of life. I would never wish to deprive anyone the joy of creating songs with AI if that is their choice. Tech is great for development and tools but I don’t feel it is appropriate for generating lyrics or melodies.
In a strong community of songwriters and musicians and producers, many of us have spent all those thousands of hours honing our craft. I studied for a music performance degree, I have attended many songwriting retreat and workshops.
Through each of these journeys I have been in tears, feeling not accepted or good enough. Yet these embers inside me needed to be ignited. I felt the burn and pushed myself to learn. Where was I going wrong? Why were my songs so damn weird? I was lost and bewildered and hurt.
So I studied more, I attended and joined more songwriting courses and communities. I had private mentoring. Slowly the flames were flickering. I felt proud of the songs I was writing. I finally felt I could go out and perform these songs without those odd looks.
My reward? In July 2021, I got to perform at my rock idol,s private party. That fire inside was roaring and I felt euphoric.
This is Saskia and her teams’ decision to include AI in the song competition. To me it seems to devalue the art and craft of songwriting. What is the award for AI based on? This doesn’t seem to align with the nurturing and encouragement of songwriting and collaboration that Talent Is Timeless are known and loved for.
I appreciate we are all doing this for different reasons and there is no wrong or right. Everyone’s idea of success is different and what each of us wants from a song is different. For me personally I would never be where I am now had I used AI. I have learnt from and been inspired by humans and their hearts and soul. Imagine a time where we attend songwriting retreats and we are all plonked in front of our screens for a session with AI?
I don’t like or agree with the decision to include AI in the competition and would vote against it. Yet here it is, in all its glory so I can only now wish every entrant the best of luck in the competition.
Hi Razale, I just wanted to say thank you for sharing your songwriting journey with such honesty and heart. From your music degree to performing at your rock idol’s party – it’s an inspiring path you’ve carved! Your dedication to the craft through thousands of hours of learning, practicing, and pushing through those moments of self-doubt resonates deeply with me and I’m guessing most people here have faced similar doubts at various times.
I see that your perspective on AI comes from a place of profound respect for songwriting as an art form, and I value and respect that. You’re absolutely right – there’s no replacement for the human experience, emotion, and dedication that goes into crafting songs the traditional way.
As you know, our core mission has always been celebrating creativity in later life, and that remains unchanged. The AI category exists separately to encourage exploration and discussion around these new tools, while our traditional categories continue to honor and celebrate the craft you’ve devoted yourself to.
Anyway, thank you for being part of our community and for engaging so thoughtfully with this topic, even while disagreeing! And maintaining respect for your fellow songwriters.
Hello Everyone. I am a new member as of today and I have been invited to contribute to this conversation. Even though my career took me other places during my life, music has always been a big part of my life. I am a classical guitarist, music festival producer, music producer, standup comic and more. I am a founding board member of a veteran organization titled “Operation Song”. We interview war veterans and Gold Star Family and write a song for them about their experiences. Today I operate my own project writing songs for PTSD war veterans.
I am 75 years young now and I am 100% disabled. It is no longer possible for me to perform my instruments. Even though I couldn’t play my guitar during the past decade or more, I continued to write verse and poetry. I have authored 25 books, some of which are my poetry books. For years there was a void in me because I was missing the musical element of my life. Continuing to write lyrics helped a lot, but I was missing the tunes. I was struggling.
Then came AI into the picture. I resisted using AI to create my music because I thought it was cheating. “This is not art and creativity. This is science and technology.”, I kept telling myself. I refused to even consider the possibility of using AI to create my music. I would feel like a traitor. I continued writing lyrics tho.
Then, one day, I looked at my files of poems and song lyrics I had written over the years. I had thousands. I had a void in my life of creating music, so I decided to take a look at AI. I heard an AI produced song and I was impressed with the results. I started studying the technology of AI music production and realized I could do this.
I started singing and humming the melodies until I got a sore throat. Then I bought a small electronic keyboard to key the melodies and harmonies. I control the genre of the music, the BPM, the key, vocal selection, rhythm, back up singers, instruments used and more. I can arrange the song, insert solo interludes, assign the finale and a lot more. I feel I have full control over the song and it is satisfying for me. AI has turned out to be an effective instrument replacement for me.
I have been able to produce 20 albums and 693 tracks of music in about 3 months because I had already written the lyrics. I understand every musicians opinion and fears of replacement with AI because I am a musician also. I get it. But for me personally, AI has been a convenient solution to my disabilities and inabilities to perform my instruments. I am very pleased that Talent Is Timeless has decided to add an AI category. That gives me motivation and confidence that my AI creations are legitimate and accepted to some degree.
Thanks for reading this far. See you on stage somewhere. http://echoingsymphony.com