Jack Antonoff has hit out at artists and producers who use artificial intelligence (AI) to make music.
In an “update” posted to Instagram this week, the Bleachers frontman blasted AI music creators as “godless w**res”.
“What we do has become an ancient ritual,” he wrote in the letter. “You don’t have to write music, you don’t have to record it and you don’t have to bring out the band and play it. And yet for us, the idea of optimizing what we do is a complete miss of the entire point of what compels us in the first place. We (myself, the band and everyone I know, frankly) have never been looking for this work to become quicker or easier. We were never frustrated by the randomness and magic it takes. We do it for that exact reason – and without the process itself… nothingness.”
Antonoff, who is known for his collaborations with the likes of Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, and Sabrina Carpenter, went on to argue that “bad actors” in the entertainment industry will eventually “reveal themselves through slop”.
“So to everyone who is gassed up about the new ways you can fake making art, by all means, drive right off that cliff. We’re genuinely happy to see you go,” the 42-year-old fired. “Generations coming will be engaging in the ancient ritual of writing, recording and performing as it comes to us from God.”
Elsewhere in the note, Antonoff – who is married to actress Margaret Qualley – insisted that the majority of musicians and performers are committed to making original art.
“Writing music, recording and performing it – that’s it. Nothing more embarrassing than considering there is a way to optimize that holy process,” he added. “Also interesting to me how it’s mainly the out of touch shouting about following this nightmare. The new artists I know are genuinely uninterested in anything that doesn’t come from within.”
Antonoff is next set to perform with Bleachers in New Orleans on 20 May.
