The explosion of AI music
With AI, users do not need to know deep music theory, just a few prompts can create a complete piece of music, even in the style of a famous artist.
In Vietnam, this trend is also developing very quickly. On platforms such as YouTube, TikTok or in music composition groups on social networks, it is not difficult to encounter music products "created by AI": From using AI to demo new songs, imitating famous singers' voices, to remixing familiar songs in completely different styles such as rock, EDM or lo-fi. Some products even reach hundreds of thousands, millions of views, creating lively debates in the professional community as well as Vietnamese music lovers.
Musician Nguyen Van Chung said that it is necessary to use very accurate words when talking about this phenomenon. He commented: "AI singing, producing MVs or creating music products cannot be considered "self-implemented", because AI does not operate independently but requires humans to enter data and make specific requests. Therefore, the more accurate way to express it is that AI is used to create music products".
Musician Duc Thinh believes that currently, AI only stops at creating music products according to data and programming requirements. According to the musician, AI does not have the ability to create art independently, but only plays the role of a supporting tool, used by humans in the process of implementation.
Sharing the same view, musician Ha Anh believes that music created by AI will not be able to replace human creations. The musician assessed: "Music is not only a combination of catchy melodies or images, but also a very personal life experience, emotions and story of people. AI can support music makers in many stages, but to touch the hearts of the audience, there still needs to be people behind it.
Potential risks from AI music
One of the popular applications of AI today is remixing old works in a new style. However, this raises many questions: Is that a way to refresh musical heritage or is it distorting, even infringing on the original value?
Musician Ha Anh believes that this depends very much on the person behind the product. He affirmed: "Music is not something to be framed, but it cannot be arbitrarily distorted.
AI can help remixes take place very quickly and create new colors, but in the end, it also learns from people. When musicians have a deep enough understanding of the history, spirit and cultural space of the work, renewal will become a dialogue with the past, not a rough intervention in the original value.
From the perspective of rights and economic value, musician Nguyen Van Chung warned that the use of AI to create music products from works that have not been allowed for commercial exploitation is an act of copyright infringement. Notably, derivative products created by AI, if they become popular, may also directly affect the coverage and economic value of the original work.
Sharing the same view, musician Ha Anh said: "The boundary between creativity and infringement lies in consensus and transparency. AI is only truly creative when used as a tool to support humans. Conversely, infringement begins when the voice, style or work of an individual is copied without permission, or causes public misunderstanding about the creative subject". According to musician Nguyen Van Chung, there is still no clear legal mechanism to protect copyright and personal rights against derivative products from AI. When AI can imitate singers' voices or blend creative styles, the boundary between creativity and copyright infringement becomes very blurred, mainly stopping at the level of perception, not yet able to prove specifically. All three musicians agreed that, up to this point, there is still no clear legal mechanism or precedent to determine what is creativity and what is infringement in music created by AI.
