Gothenburg is in the same country as Spotify's corporate offices. Historically (and even now), there are alternatives:
1- remember Brian Eno's Music for Airports? It was remarkable the de-escalating effect it had on people's anxiety and irritability in the one airport (decades ago) that played it.
2- the owner of Aime Leon Dore (ALD) appreciates the importance of music in the retail experience. It's not democratic, but his excellent taste is appreciated.
3- bandcamp is free for fans, and I believe fans can make public playlists. maybe you and i could collaborate on a playlist of our favorites, which only uses AI as an assistive, summarizing tool, if at all.
4- there's an old bumper sticker: "Think Globally, Act Locally". It would be nice to figure out how that applies.
5- I loved juke boxes in diners. Especially the ones that you didn't have to pay to hear a song. It kind of democratized the role of the DJ.
They pay top dollars for their coffe beans, so they respect the work and care of everyone involved in than production chain. But they fail to act accordingly when it comes to music. And yes, they are failing their customers. I've had the experience of going to lunch, being asked what kind o music did I wanted them to play, and when I said "jazz", up came the same horrible AI stuff. It ruined my appetite.
Yes to the farmers in the Kenyan cooperative. No to the jazz artist in Chicago. That's the premium value calculation. Oh my people. Kimberly Crenshaw's notion of intersectionality has drifted from the court room into a cartoon version in our popular Left consciousness. In the victim Olympics the jazz artist doesn't even get a medal.
1. One alternative is for the coffee shop to stop playing music. We’re bombarded every day with recorded music in stores, elevators and coffee shops. My very strong preference is no music in a coffee shop so that I can read Substack or listen on my headphones to voice messages or play music I want to hear without the interference of unwanted music, regardless of whether it’s A generated or not.
2. I believe most people in coffee shops have no clue whether the music is AI generated or not. It’s not on their radar. They’re not necessarily connoisseurs who can distinguish “real” music from AI. Consider how much AI music is not just consumed every day but is among the top 100 most popular hits. If you’re having a conversation with a fellow coffee drinker at your table you may be completely unaware music is being played. Sometimes the music is very soft; other times it’s too loud. Most of the time the music being played is not my cup of tea.
"...the lack of someone having actually decided anything." I love that! It cuts to the heart of what "AI music" is (not). Of course nobody has decided anything, because there is nobody there! It's not f-ing music if nobody is playing it. Sorry -- just sayin'.
My favorite coffee/food place in Iowa plays music from their own playlist, from Chicago Blues artists you recognize, to jazz you recognize, to singer/songwriters you recognize. Not how that involves royalties and such, but I enjoy that it is not AI slop.
Ha, fair point. Honestly I have no idea how strictly any of this is actually enforced. Maybe the lawyer showing up to check your music licensing is a fever dream. But I’m in Sweden, and I’m really not sure how that might work here.
Either way, what struck me more than the enforcement question is the bigger effect: all of these protections — which exist for good reasons, given how little streaming already pays artists — seem to be having the unintended result of pushing some people away from playing actual human-made music entirely.
Gothenburg is in the same country as Spotify's corporate offices. Historically (and even now), there are alternatives:
1- remember Brian Eno's Music for Airports? It was remarkable the de-escalating effect it had on people's anxiety and irritability in the one airport (decades ago) that played it.
2- the owner of Aime Leon Dore (ALD) appreciates the importance of music in the retail experience. It's not democratic, but his excellent taste is appreciated.
3- bandcamp is free for fans, and I believe fans can make public playlists. maybe you and i could collaborate on a playlist of our favorites, which only uses AI as an assistive, summarizing tool, if at all.
4- there's an old bumper sticker: "Think Globally, Act Locally". It would be nice to figure out how that applies.
5- I loved juke boxes in diners. Especially the ones that you didn't have to pay to hear a song. It kind of democratized the role of the DJ.
They pay top dollars for their coffe beans, so they respect the work and care of everyone involved in than production chain. But they fail to act accordingly when it comes to music. And yes, they are failing their customers. I've had the experience of going to lunch, being asked what kind o music did I wanted them to play, and when I said "jazz", up came the same horrible AI stuff. It ruined my appetite.
Yes to the farmers in the Kenyan cooperative. No to the jazz artist in Chicago. That's the premium value calculation. Oh my people. Kimberly Crenshaw's notion of intersectionality has drifted from the court room into a cartoon version in our popular Left consciousness. In the victim Olympics the jazz artist doesn't even get a medal.
Two thoughts:
1. One alternative is for the coffee shop to stop playing music. We’re bombarded every day with recorded music in stores, elevators and coffee shops. My very strong preference is no music in a coffee shop so that I can read Substack or listen on my headphones to voice messages or play music I want to hear without the interference of unwanted music, regardless of whether it’s A generated or not.
2. I believe most people in coffee shops have no clue whether the music is AI generated or not. It’s not on their radar. They’re not necessarily connoisseurs who can distinguish “real” music from AI. Consider how much AI music is not just consumed every day but is among the top 100 most popular hits. If you’re having a conversation with a fellow coffee drinker at your table you may be completely unaware music is being played. Sometimes the music is very soft; other times it’s too loud. Most of the time the music being played is not my cup of tea.
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-playlist-ryuichi-sakamoto-curated-for-his-favourite-japanese-restaurant/
"...the lack of someone having actually decided anything." I love that! It cuts to the heart of what "AI music" is (not). Of course nobody has decided anything, because there is nobody there! It's not f-ing music if nobody is playing it. Sorry -- just sayin'.
Depressing beyond belief.
My favorite coffee/food place in Iowa plays music from their own playlist, from Chicago Blues artists you recognize, to jazz you recognize, to singer/songwriters you recognize. Not how that involves royalties and such, but I enjoy that it is not AI slop.
Ha, fair point. Honestly I have no idea how strictly any of this is actually enforced. Maybe the lawyer showing up to check your music licensing is a fever dream. But I’m in Sweden, and I’m really not sure how that might work here.
Either way, what struck me more than the enforcement question is the bigger effect: all of these protections — which exist for good reasons, given how little streaming already pays artists — seem to be having the unintended result of pushing some people away from playing actual human-made music entirely.
ASCAP has been known to employ walk-in enforcement