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Billie Eilish joins ‘Barbie’ hype with new release ‘What was I made for?’

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Songwriting BTS’ Jungkook New Single “SEVEN” ft. Latto

July 21, 2023

BTS, the global sensation, continues to astound the music industry with their incredible music and meaningful lyrics. Among the members, Jungkook, also referred to as the "Golden Maknae," is.....

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How Beyoncé Crafts Her Music

July 19, 2023

Music industry icon Beyoncé is powerful and captivating. She is known not only for her dramatic performances, but also for her outstanding songwriting skills. We will delve deeper into the creative...

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Gunna’s Comeback to the Music Industry Despite Controversy

July 19, 2023

Gunna, a mainstream rapper, just released a new album containing a #1 “Billboard Hot 100” hit song called “fukumean” despite the current controversy around his name. Gunna was arrested back in May....

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Tik Tok is Now a Music Streaming Service

July 19, 2023

Everyone knows Tik Tok as the app that blew up during COVID as a way for people to create and share short videos for others to enjoy. The video’s posted range from funny skits, dances, lip sync.....

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The Shadow of Sour Writing “Vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo

July 19, 2023

The mastermind behind the overwhelmingly successful album, Sour, the 20-year-old Olivia Rodrigo comes back into the spotlight with a new heart wrenching single, ‘Vampire’ and the...

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Musical Web Reveal: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Music Creation Process

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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse took the world by storm with its groundbreaking animation, immersive storytelling and captivating visuals . One of the key elements that contributed to the succe...

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Unleash an Icon: What Makes Rihanna's Music Legendary

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Barbados-born superstar Rihanna has left an indelible mark on the music industry with her iconic sound, versatile talent, and fearless attitude. Her music has become a cultural phenomenon....

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Exploring Harry Styles’ Music Journey

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Exploring Taylor Swift's Songwriting Process

May 25, 2023

Legendary singer-songwriter Taylor Swift has captivated the world with her haunting lyrics and infectious melodies. Behind her numerous chart hits lies an intriguing songwriting process.....

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Kiana Ledé - Goes 'Deeper' About Hard Work & Perseverance

May 18, 2023

Kiana Ledé has been rocking in the R&B scene and her latest single “Jealous” continues this trend. The other day, Sonical.ly had the chance to sit down and talk with Ledé about her musical journey.

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DJ Khalil - The Secrets to a 5x Grammy Award Winning Career as a Music Producer

May 18, 2023

Anyone within the hip-hop scene knows the name, DJ Khalil. He gained popularity for both his music-producing and DJing skills. The other day, Sonical.ly had a chance to sit down and talk with DJ Khal

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Exploring the Future of AI in Music: Washed Out’s Groundbreaking AI-Generated Music Video

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Photo: A scene from the music video for “The Hardest Part” by Washed Out.

In a groundbreaking collaboration between technology and art, indie artist Washed Out has unveiled a fully AI-generated music video for his latest single, "The Hardest Part." Created using OpenAI's innovative text-to-video model, Sora, this four-minute visual experience marks a significant milestone in the integration of artificial intelligence into the music industry.

Washed Out, whose real name is Ernest Greene, has long been a prominent figure in the chillwave genre. His new single, "The Hardest Part," is accompanied by a visually stunning video that follows a couple's romance from high school through adulthood, capturing key life moments such as their wedding, child-rearing, and eventual passing. The video's unique, dreamlike quality is the result of Sora's advanced capabilities, which allow for the creation of hyper-realistic and surreal scenes that blend seamlessly together.

Director Paul Trillio, who has harbored the concept of an "infinite zoom" video for a decade, saw in Sora the perfect tool to bring his vision to life. "I was specifically interested in what makes Sora so unique," Trillio stated. "It offers something that couldn’t quite be shot with a camera, nor could it be animated in 3D. It was something that could have only existed with this specific technology." Trillio emphasized that the AI's ability to produce fluid and hallucinatory visuals enabled the exploration of new artistic ideas that would have been impossible to realize otherwise.

Sora, although not yet available to the public, can generate up to one-minute video clips based on text prompts. By stitching these clips together, creators can produce full-length projects. This technology, unveiled by OpenAI in February, has generated both excitement and concern within the creative community due to its hyper-realistic video generation capabilities.

"The Hardest Part" is the longest music video created with Sora to date, and its uncanny visuals are intentionally designed to evoke a dreamlike and hyperreal experience. Greene highlighted how the AI was able to convey the fictitious couple's story with an emotional depth that traditional filmmaking might struggle to achieve. "What [Trillio’s] come up with is nostalgic, sad, uplifting, and often quite strange," Greene noted. "In my opinion, the hallucinatory quality of Sora clips feel like the beginning of a new genre unto itself — one that is surreal and unpredictable and entirely unique to traditional cinema or even animation."

Despite some criticism from artists who argue that AI-generated content might lack the emotional authenticity of human-made art, the use of AI in creative fields is undeniably on the rise. The rapid development of generative AI tools raises questions about the future of labor in the creative industries. These tools empower anyone with a text prompt to generate music, scripts, and visual media, potentially democratizing the creative process but also sparking concerns about the displacement of human artists.

During recent labor strikes, entertainment industry workers voiced their apprehensions about the unchecked use of generative AI. Many musicians continue to advocate for protections against the unauthorized use of their work in AI models. However, proponents of AI argue that these tools can level the playing field for lower-budget artists, enabling them to undertake more ambitious projects.

Trillio remains optimistic about the future, envisioning a landscape where AI technology complements rather than replaces traditional artistic methods. "This offers a glimpse at a future where music artists will be given the opportunity to dream bigger," he wrote. "An overreliance on this technique may become a crutch, and it’s important that we don’t use this as the new standard of creation but as another technique in the toolbelt."

As AI continues to evolve, its integration into the music industry opens up a plethora of possibilities for artists and creators. The ability to generate visually stunning and emotionally resonant content with AI could redefine the boundaries of artistic expression. However, it is crucial to strike a balance between embracing technological advancements and preserving the unique qualities that human creativity brings to the table.

In the future, we might see more collaborations between AI and artists, leading to the emergence of new genres and art forms that blend human ingenuity with machine precision. The key will be to use AI as a tool to enhance and expand creative horizons, rather than as a replacement for the irreplaceable human touch in art. As the technology becomes more accessible, it will be fascinating to observe how artists of all backgrounds leverage AI to tell their stories and connect with audiences in innovative ways.