Dr. Dre says AI is a music tool, not a threat
The producer said he uses artificial intelligence as a tool, while Jimmy Iovine argued that many musicians are already doing the same in private.
Dr. Dre said he does not see artificial intelligence as a threat to music and described it as "a new tool for creativity." He said he is already using AI in production, treating it as a way to see what it would do with ideas he has just made.
Variety reported that Dre compared the backlash around AI to the early resistance faced by drum machines and synthesizers. He said he had spoken a few days earlier with people who were against AI, and argued that the only people who see it as a threat are those who have trouble creating.
He added that some people are simply afraid of learning new things. He said he was using it "as a tool to see what it would do with what I just did."
Jimmy Iovine echoed the point, saying there are "a lot of closet AI producers out there." Dre agreed, saying they are using the technology but do not want to admit it. Billboard reported that Iovine called himself "very pro-AI in music creation" and said he did not see the downside, while Dre said he was "embracing it" and could not wait to see what happens next.
The comments came in an interview with The New York Times. Dre and Iovine co-founded Beats Electronics and Beats Music before selling Beats to Apple for a reported $3 billion-plus in 2014. The music business is still arguing over how AI should be used and disclosed.
Variety said that Round Hill Music has sued Suno and Anthropic, accusing them of scraping hundreds of songs to train models without permission, while Suno has also been sued by Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group and Sony Music. BMG has separately sued Anthropic this year, calling the alleged use of its recordings a scheme of "widespread and systematic infringement."
At the same time, labels and platforms are pushing for clearer disclosure. Billboard reported that Apple Music plans to make its AI Transparency Tags visible later this year as "Made With AI" labels, and that content providers will have to disclose when AI has been used to create a material portion of content. Variety also reported that Spotify has begun labelling AI-generated artist profiles as "AI Personas," while the RIAA, IFPI, the Grammys and SAG-AFTRA have backed a voluntary labelling program for AI-produced songs.