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Singer-songwriter and cultural maven Elizabeth Nelson discusses the importance of creativity and musician survival to our society on the latest episode of Understanding IP Matters (UIPM).
As the role of AI in the creative process changes rapidly, Nelson discusses her advocacy to educate on the importance of a robust, artistic community.
Nelson is the lead singer for the band The Paranoid Style, a journalist who publishes articles in the Washington Post, The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine, as well as a copywriter for Fender Guitars. With a Master’s Degree in sociology she also works in education policy and literacy interventions for middle school children.
In this episode, Nelson and UIPM host Bruce Berman discuss:
– The use of AI tools in the creative process
– Why change is needed to protect artists, and their financial viability, from big tech
companies
– How music streaming services are simply consensus driven, and what exposure they do
provide to smaller artists isn’t valuable enough
Oversight of AI in the future will be needed, Nelson says. “We need to somehow implement some kind of regulation… what recently happened with the antitrust against Google might be a bellwether for what’s to come.” If regulation doesn’t happen, Nelson says “then we’re doomed.”
Key Responses
What is the state of music streaming and music on the radio now?
Elizabeth Nelson: “I do think there is an argument that there was certainly diversity on terrestrial, mainstream radio, and then there were also, independent stations that, could thrive. There’s still a wide, you know, diversity of music. I’m not going to say that there aren’t diverse folks making music and some of it’s obviously, the streaming economy has afforded some more exposure.”
“I got some, some pushback from people who felt like, Oh, well, I wouldn’t have gotten noticed if I didn’t have streaming to help me. And that’s fantastic. I’m really happy for those people. And I’m not going to say that exposure isn’t great, but you can’t pay the bills with exposure.”
Do you, as a creative person, benefit from using AI tools?
Elizabeth Nelson: “I don’t understand how it could be a useful tool for anybody who considers themselves a creator in any creative way. I don’t need AI to come up with a chord progression for me.” “I’d rather put rocks in my pocket and walk into the ocean. I’m being very serious with you. I mean, part of the creative process is doing the work, and I respect that. And I don’t want a shortcut.”
Can creative people expect to live a middle class life in the future?
Elizabeth Nelson: “A middle class lifestyle in general is going to be difficult… I don’t think that the middle class is an option for musicians anymore, unless you’re doing some fancy footwork around where your other revenue streams are coming from.”
More Highlights
Nelson says in this time of AI impact, and before substantive regulation has been passed, “if you consider yourself a fan, figure out ways to engage with artists that help them get paid, but also we don’t need a patronage system. We need real genuine change.”
Listen to the entire episode to learn:
- If it is possible to earn a middle-class wage in the music industry today
- There’s every reason to be concerned about the worst possible outcomes when it comes to AI’s impact in the creative fields
- The larger interests of a functioning society are not the concerns of big tech who are developing AI tools
