TED Tech A survival guide for musicians in the age of AI | Harvey Mason jr.
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Aug 22, 2025 Harvey Mason Jr., a renowned songwriter and CEO of the Recording Academy, shares insights on navigating the music industry in an AI-dominated era. He presents a four-step survival guide urging musicians to adapt while keeping the emotional core of their art. The discussion includes the balance between AI's capabilities and human creativity, emphasizing advocacy for artists' rights and the need for collaboration within the music community. Mason's approach highlights the irreplaceable essence of human artistry amidst rapid technological change.
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Four-Step Survival Framework
- Harvey Mason Jr. lays out a four-step survival framework for human creators facing AI: understand, adapt, advocate, compete.
- These steps frame both mindset and action to preserve human creativity amid rapid AI advances.
Learn How AI Actually Works
- Understand AI: learn what it does, how it works, and what it learns so you can use it intentionally.
- Knowledge about the tools informs smarter creative choices and strategic adaptation.
Studio Team Shocked By AI Speed
- Harvey recounts asking his studio team to study generative AI and returning to find them demoralized after AI produced songs in seconds.
- His engineer Andrew feared obsolescence and worried about supporting his family because AI created songs far faster than humans.
