Foreigner singer Kelly Hansen says he has “a cynical view of what’s going forward for the music business” due to AI technology.
Hansen recalled striking up a conversation with a famous rapper in a restaurant, and he asked the rapper where his revenue streams came from.
“And he said, ‘Live.’ And I’m like, ‘What?’ I’m like, ‘That’s the only place we make money,’” said Hansen. “He goes, ‘I use social media to direct to live,’ and [Foreigner uses], you know, years of people knowing the music and continuing to put on a great show to drive people to live.
Hansen notes, “Live is the only place you’re making any money. If you have a giant catalog of hits, I would’ve suggested you sold it 10 years ago, because I can’t see a scenario where your catalog’s gonna make more…But what I see now is everybody’s stealing everything and no one’s paying anybody anything. And if I can steal Frank Sinatra’s voice in AI to make a TikTok clip that gets me a hundred thousand followers or likes or listens, and it makes me add money, what the hell? What’s going on?…I’ve done so many interviews and sung so many songs, I could be AIed tomorrow and no one would need me anymore.”
Do you think the music industry needs to create a standard around the use of AI to protect artists and songwriters?
