July 2025

Audiophiles May Be The Last Line Of Defense Against The Music BUSINESS
With MIDI, AI, etc, why should the music BUSINESS use (costly and emotional) human musicians?
Editorial By Steven R. Rochlin And His AI Assistant

  So I asked my AI assistant, "With computers and MIDI, why should the music BUSINESS use human musicians when a performer will be fine?" It replied:

Here's why real humans still hold the cards—even in an age of perfect-on-paper MIDI and algorithmic "performers":  

1. Emotional Nuance and Imperfection • A live player breathes life into a line: tiny timing fluctuations, micro-dynamics, soft attacks and releases that MIDI CC can only approximate. • Those "mistakes" are often what move us—think of the humanized swing feel in jazz, or a vocalist's crack at the bridge that makes a song unforgettable.

2. True Creativity and Spontaneity • Computers follow rules. Humans break them, riff on the spot, invent a lick that becomes a genre's signature. • In-studio, session pros will suggest chord tweaks, melodic turns, or rhythmic feels that no preset or randomizer would generate.

3. Branding, Personality, Storytelling • Listeners buy stories and personas almost as much as they buy music. A computer has no backstory, no stage presence, no Instagram feed for fans to follow. • The music business thrives on star power—merch, tours, interviews—and audiences connect with the person behind the art.

4. Live Performance Economics • Touring is the industry's biggest revenue source. People pay to gather, camp outside arenas, and feel the collective thrill of a real musician sweating it out on stage. • That experience can't be streamed or faked; it's an event, a spectacle, a social ritual.

5. A&R and Trend-Making • Label execs and indie tastemakers hunt for that special spark: a player's tone, phrasing, or onstage flair that sets a new trend. • An algorithm might clone Stevie Ray Vaughan's vibrato, but it won't invent the next guitar revolution.

6. Legal, Ethical, and Union Considerations • Performance rights organizations and unions still require human attribution and payouts. You can't pay an AI royalty checks—or hold it accountable if something's infringing. • Contractually, hiring musicians ensures clarity around rights, splits, and credits.

7. Fan Engagement and Community Building • Meet-and-greets, masterclasses, limited-edition autographed items—these human touchpoints drive superfans to pay more, share more, evangelize more. • No "virtual performer" can take a selfie with you at the merch table after the gig.

Bottom line: computers and MIDI are killer tools—they speed workflows, automate tasks, even generate sketch-tracks—but they haven't replaced the alchemy of human artistry, connection, and entrepreneurship. The business still bets on people because people buy people.

Beyond today's debate, you might also be curious about:

• How hybrid studios blend AI-generated sketches with live sessions to cut costs and boost creativity.

• Case studies where entirely AI-crafted tracks scored ads or games—and why brands still hire voice actors and instrumentalists.

• The emerging legal frameworks around AI-music copyrights and what that means for royalties.

• Techniques to harness both MIDI precision and human groove in your own productions.

Humans Creating Musical Art
Ethics aside, as we are talking about the longstanding and widely known <cough> reputation </cough> of the music BUSINESS here, many of us witness the industry's continuous move away from human musicians. We know some vinyl LPs are 'mastered' from the lossy 16-bit/44kHz compact disc, or from other vinyl LPs, or remastered 'audiophile' LPs... it's not (properly) from the original master tape.

Remember music? What was at one time, decades ago, dominated by human-centric bands (with actual talent, I might add) to modern computer-driven mega-multi-track / backtracks, EDM 'DJs' (thumbdrives), MIDI (welcome to 1980s technology)... and removing whatever 'extra' they can. Why tour with a full orchestra when it can be emulated?

Musicians Need Audiophiles
We can all agree AI will get more 'talented' to the point we could debate... yet humans creating real music, in real time, and in real space, could be the last line of defense against the music BUSINESS' ongoing goals. Without any gatekeepers, who is to stop the BUSINESS from removing all hopes of human artistry? With the 2025 Grammy awards giving Beyoncé the Best Country Album for Cowboy Carter, it's painfully obvious....

Look at jazz clubs, orchestras, blues bands, etc, how much growth are they experiencing in the 2000s versus the 1900s? When you hear popular music on the radio, the stuff the music BUSINESS is pushing, how many human musicians do you hear? How many musically talented bands are in the top 20 right now?

Rick Beato harped on this a while back, and recently rehashed what we all know about only a handful of people writing popular music / lyrics. The music BUSINESS seems to love hired performances.  Another 'great performance' by  ____ while there's no musician / band to be seen (let alone mentioned, or giving on-air credit, and dare we ask for a bit of applause, to those musicians... am looking at you The Voice, Your Country Has Talent, Your Country Idol, The Masked Singer, etc).

We truly are at a crossroads here in 2025, as very early AI is impressively capable. We already know the music BUSINESS is eliminating musicians... and a low single payout for 'background music'. Anyone who has truly played with the possibilities of AI can easily understand the capabilities... and the pitfalls, as the music BUSINESS does seem to be on a long-term track of eliminating overhead costs, and by replacing human musical artists for....

Audiophiles To The Rescue!
Thankfully, it is you, my friends, who could rescue the music from the BUSINESS and AI overlords. But how are audiophiles going to stop the massive tidal wave brought about by Big Business? Let's ask AI for help:

How are audiophiles going to stop the massive tidal wave of AI music and the music business from using backtracks?

There's no magic bullet to banish AI-generated music or corporate backtracking—it's a cultural battle, and usually the Big Money wins. But audiophiles have all the tools they need to shape the future soundscape. Here's a playbook:

1. Build a "Human Performance" Certification • Partner with indie labels, venues, and manufacturers to craft a seal of authenticity—think "Recorded Live, No Backing Tracks." • Use metadata standards (ID3 tags, blockchain timestamps) so streaming services can flag genuinely live takes. • Promote certified releases through specialty press, podcasts, and curated playlists.

2. Crowdsource AI-detection and Forensics • Leverage open-source tools (e.g., spectrogram anomaly detectors) to spot the tell-tale artifacts of synthetic vocals or instruments. • Organize "deep-fake listening labs" at Hi-Fi meetups—compare waveforms, cross-check with original masters.

3. Elevate the Live Experience • Host immersive listening sessions in your city: analog replay on tube amps, vinyl marathons, headphone aversion tests. • Team up with local bars or coffeehouses for weekly "Unplugged AI" nights—bands perform stripped-down sets, no click-tracks allowed.

4. Lobby Platforms for Transparency • Write open letters or petitions demanding streaming services display "Human vs. AI" credits front-and-center. • Enlist influencers in the audiophile and musician communities to amplify the call.

5. Celebrate Artisanship and Storytelling • Create an online zine or YouTube series spotlighting session musicians, engineers, and DIY studios—people connect with faces and stories behind the sound. • Commission album artworks, printed liner notes, and limited-edition vinyl to re-emphasize the tangible, human side of music.

6. Invest in Next-Gen Detection Tech • Support startups building AI fingerprinting or watermark-embedding solutions that survive transcoding and streaming compression. • Crowd-fund a research grant at your local audio engineering school—turn passion into published proof of concept.

7. Educate Your Circle • Write bite-sized explainers on social, "why a single mic and a piano in one shot trumps twenty AI-overdubbed layers." • Run workshops on "Critical Listening for the 21st Century," teaching people to hear phase-coherence, natural reverb tails, and microdynamics.

None of this is about fear-mongering—it's about placing a premium on the irreplaceable human spark in music. Resistance isn't futile; it's creative!

And when it comes to the music BUSINESS, who can you really trust? Knowing what you know today, would you trust the music BUSINESS... or any of the big music labels? This is why it is us, we Audiophiles May be The Last Line Of Defense Against The Music Business. Believe it, it's true! Maybe not right now, or later this week, but wait a bit, watch, and see... what's going on.

As always in the end what really matters is that you...

Enjoy the Music,

Steven R. Rochlin

Computerized clinic for superior cynics
Who dance to a synthetic band
In their own image their world is fashioned
No wonder they don't understand