Be weird as hell, part 2: Bandcamp and AI

Bandcamp just announced that they’re outright prohibiting AI-generated music. Nice. I’m for it.

I think I was the first to break this news on Threads and it’s arguably my most-engaged-with post ever. Over 1200 people liked it and it’s been reposted/quoted by nearly 200 people, including some very prominent artists and industry folks.

It seems like, other than wild support, the main other reaction to this new AI policy is "ok how will you enforce this???”

Which is totally fair, and I agree with it. They should elaborate. It’s a good policy but only matters if they can stick to it.

But I also find myself wondering how “human” artists expect to realistically differentiate themselves from AI music when most “human” music is actually quite derivative & indistinct from standard genre fare? Like, if AI got really good at faking 90s emo, what would make your 90s-emo-throwback solo project meaningfully different to the average passive listener?

I keep coming back to the idea that anyone who calls themselves an artist needs to really start pushing themselves. To be weird as hell. To be distinctly themselves. And you may need to really think about how you can really demonstrate that beyond music itself (ie. in your social presence and what you put out into the world).

Otherwise, what’s stopping your friend from listening to an AI copy whose “music” sounds exactly like your own?