The BBC has come under critisism from the music industry after it prasied the music of a Midlands based artist named Papi Lamour last weekend.

Radio host Theo Johnson praised Lamour’s music on BBC West Midlands Introducing show citing it as “pitch perfect” and “amazing” before Lamour stated on air to the track having been completely made using AI software.

To little comment or questioning from the host, Lamour went onto explain how their background in computer science had helped them create a track where everything from recording the vocals to the instrumentals was completely AI-generated.

Papi Lamour said on the show: “I listened to it and it was like something from a movie. That tells you that the future of music is going to change.”

While host Theo Johnson commented: “I feel like we are seeing that change because it sounds pitch perfect. When I heard it, it was sonically amazing, and then it’s like who is this? I’ve never interviewed anyone on radio who has said, ‘This was AI’.”

Lamour even went on to confirm that they would obviously struggle to perform the track live if asked to do so.

The outrage about such comments first came in the form of a viral Tiktok video which criticised the BBC’s decision to play Lamour on the radio show in the first place as it is meant to champion and support new music and musicians. Not computer science!

Its a huge insult to all of the artists and musicians who have spent endless hours pouring blood, sweat and tears into their music, gigging relentlessly, uploading song after song to the BBC Introducing uploader only to be overlooked by an AI generated “fake song”.

The poor decision on the part of the BBC to air Lamour’s AI offering comes at a time when musicians are increasingly struggling to survive and the risks of AI is only adding to this. Its taking away creativity, individualism and talent from the sector.

Lamour himself posted a TikTok video in response in which he said: “Jealousy shouts, kindness thinks, and courage keeps creating. Never let the noise of small minds drown the work of a big one.”

At the beginning of the year, Paul McCartney called on the British government to protect artists in the face of a new copyright law that could allow for AI to “rip off” creators.

This all comes after earlier this year, when artists such as  Kate Bush, Damon Albarn and Annie Lennox were amongst 1,000 artists who contributed to a silent album protesting government plans around AI.

The album, titled Is This What We Want?, featured recordings of empty music studios and performance spaces. Over 1,000 artists are credited as co-writers on the 12 silent songs.

Is there a place for AI generated tracks in the music industry, or is this just another nail in the coffin for the creative sector?

We know what side were on.

THE SONGBIRD HQ