In 2024, I drew covers using AI. It is fast, cheap, and gives good results. But I have decided to not use AI for corers anymore. It reduces my creativity and limits my ways of interacting with my audience.
It is not the War against AI. No! I like the covers I used in 2024 more than the older ones. I have no plans to ditch AI in all places where it helps a lot. I will use it to check my spelling and correct my translations, but I will not use AI for covers.
Music is a personal experience, and it is translated from a musician to a listener. It makes no sense to use AI in its creation. For a musician, it is important to do it themselves, from the very beginning to the end.
If music-making is a side business for you, it is ok to use generative AI. It is cheap and fast and no copyright issues. Good AI can even mimic emotions in music. The only thing it can’t do is a story behind a track. Generated music is always only sounds placed in time by pitch and on a stereo field. But if you are a podcaster, it is all you need.
Only a musician, a human, can create a story behind a song. And there will always be a demand for such music. In two or three years, we will search for music with a sign “created by a human” on streaming platforms.
Sure, many everyday music production tools are AI-based. New mastering tools in several modern DAWs are AI-based. But these tools are just tools. They do not substitute creativity. They let you make the final stages of production less boring.
Is a cover only a technical thing? I used to see them as a necessary evil. A distributor requires a unique 3000x3000 pixel image for each release. No image no release. Here you are. A unique creation from an AI.
In December 2024 I started reading a book written by Julia Cameron The Artist’s Way. I did some exercises. I started gradually changing my mind about covers. It is an extension of a track. It could mirror its mood and idea. So silly cover made by me is better than AI-generated. In the ideal world, I would like to order a cover from a professional artist. But… It is not possible now.
From the very first release of 2025, I will create covers by myself or order them from someone alive. I’ll do my best to learn how to create interesting, creative covers with top quality. It is my New Year’s resolution.