The Country Music Industry Has Discovered That AI Can Crank Out Hits Like Crazy

"For decades, the country music industry has billed itself as the rough-hewn, rural cousin to the effete sounds of the city. That appears to be going out the window, as more and more country producers embrace San Francisco's AI over Nashville's homespun troubadours. In a detailed reporting on changes in the country music industry, spoke to a number of professional song-writers, producers, and artists about the rise of AI in country music. Their responses point to a scene that's changing fast - and leaving human artists in the dust."

"The songwriter Trannie Anderson, for example, called the tech "ubiquitous" throughout Nashville, the epicenter of the country music industry. Anderson, who's written for artists like Reba McEntire, said everyone's using it: "from entry-level songwriters to the top dogs." (Sources who talked to The Verge confirmed big wigs like Jelly Roll and Dustin Lynch are being sent song demos with their own voices digitally synthesized.)"

"Eric Olson, a publisher interviewed by The Verge, encourages country song writers to use AI to come up with song samples, saying it saves tons of time in the work day. "If I can give Suno the last 20 percent and spend more time with my kids, that's huge," he said. While AI tools like Suno can generate just about everything a music producer needs - lyrics, backup vocals, melodies - they're mainly being used for demo production. When up-and-coming singer-songwriter Maggie Reaves got a contract from a "major artist" with a one-day turnaround, for example, she wrote the song on paper before throwing it into Suno, according to The Verge. Her publisher told her it was "perfect." "This is going straight to her," her publisher said."

Country music producers increasingly adopt AI tools from San Francisco, replacing Nashville's traditional approaches. AI use is widespread across entry-level writers and top professionals, including synthetic demos of well-known artists. Publishers and producers encourage AI to accelerate sample creation and reduce workload, enabling faster turnarounds and lower demo costs. Tools like Suno can produce lyrics, melodies, backup vocals, and synthesized lead vocals, and they are primarily applied to demo production. Demo creation remains an important revenue stream for working musicians, and AI adoption is reshaping who benefits from that work.

Read at Futurism