If AI replaces musicians, does the entire plugin industry die with them?

[wagtunes]

I use Reaper and as a pupil of Prince I work extremely fast, I don't mess around with too many options or choices
Compressor ? ReaComp or LA3a emu sometimes even on master bus.
Mastering comp The Glue
EQ? ReaEq or Pultec emu
Delay? ReaDelay or Vallhala

Microphones are very important. You have to find out what Microphone works best for your voice and recording environment. A Neumann U47 or 67 would be a bad choice for me, cuz my room is not treated perfectly for recording, but I know what mics to use in such an environment, Neumanns are too sensitive optimized for perfect environment and you would record your mess together with your voice. I tested about 25 mics in my life.

If you want to learn how to improve background vocals, listen to Prince's song "7" and "Adore", all vocals by Prince and these songs are rather Gospel, Prince covered a lot of different genres.
One more recommendation is not to waste too much time on trying to find instruments that are masking, I hope that's the correct term, I saw Sonible offering an option to find overlaping frequencies of Instruments - waste of time.
It is natural that frequencies overlap, panning is the better solution. That's why I often repeated that today's mixes sound over-polished, well, I don't like that, there must be some natural dirt imo.
I am a lover of Yamaha instruments and I was never tempted to play a different guitar than my Fender Strat and Fender Precision bass, I love Nylon string guitar so much and the funkiest albums for me are Fresh by Sly Stone and NPG Exodus (Prince). Fav guitar player Prince and Paco de Lucia, fav drummer Mitch Mitchell and Andy Newmark on Sly's Fresh album, fav singers Prince, Sly and Al Green, fav bassist Prince and fav pianists or on keys hmmm difficult I like Prince's Monk style, Stevie is great and Arthur Rubinstein"s Chopin interpretations and Glenn Gould's Bach. Miles Davis is great! That's all about me.

What daw are you using?

Maybe one more reply, cuz this thread is about whether AI will replace musicians and plugins.
Well, I guess the next generations will decide.
I would like to give you an advice how you could make your vocals even better and I am sure some like it the way it is, but I have no clue about ai, so maybe listen to these two Prince songs I recommended, I learned a very lot from them. I couldn't tell my fav Prince songs, but if I had to, probably The beautiful ones (what he did in 2nd part with his voice is pure passion and omg the synths) and Adore.

Here's the thread if you're interested.

viewtopic.php?t=627733

I put it in Production Techniques.

[Grizzellda]

Great that you guys are getting along better and exchanging ideas.

I am always interested in becoming a better vocalist. For years I have been doing a kind of "yoga breathing". Maybe not quite full blown pranayama, but using my diaphragm correctly.

Diaphragm swings down, air rushes into the lungs, like a vacuum, that is when it feels completely correct.

Then to exhale, diaphragm moves up and squeezes the air out of the lungs.

Swami Vishnu Devananda said when you get going with this, it should feel like a "flywheel", momentum.

Of course singing is alot about the breathing.

[DCrown]

Great that you guys are getting along better and exchanging ideas.

I am always interested in becoming a better vocalist. For years I have been doing a kind of "yoga breathing". Maybe not quite full blown pranayama, but using my diaphragm correctly.

Diaphragm swings down, air rushes into the lungs, like a vacuum, that is when it feels completely correct.

Then to exhale, diaphragm moves up and squeezes the air out of the lungs.

Swami Vishnu Devananda said when you get going with this, it should feel like a "flywheel", momentum.

Of course singing is alot about the breathing.

I posted a link in the recording technique forum.
I just finsihed an audio example how I record vocals - lead and background vocals.
The link and more informations you will find here:

viewtopic.php?t=627733

Maybe you will like it or get some inspiration.

[BONES]

The whole plugin ecosystem exists because humans want tools to shape sound, experiment, design, mix and develop their own workflow. If music becomes mostly prompt-based or fully automated, the end user is no longer a producer or sound designer but just a consumer of output.

I'm sure they said the same thing when synthesisers started to become popular and when analogue sequencers appeared, and when digital sequencers appeared and when DAWs came into vogue but "musicians" survived.

[guitarzan]

Everyone just thinks of the AI song generators that spit out complete mixed tunes, but there are several other AI composing apps that work using MIDI — outputting regular old MIDI files that can then be used to play any VST plugin or outboard MIDI gear. These AI apps may actually stir up some new interest in the already dying (IMO) plugin industry.

Twenty years ago I bet there were more posts on this site every day than there are in a month now. A thread might have three developers jumping in on the discussions and beginning new projects right then and there… dozens of new and unique plugins a month. Maybe AI will be the kick in the ass the industry needs to spur a new wave of innovation.

[DCrown]

I just saw Superl Bow performance with some guy called Bad Bunny. Only the name speaks for itself. Worst performance I have ever seen.
Don't care whether his music is ai produced or just a playback perormance, I think it really doesn't matter whether in future 99% of music will be full ai productions, it can't get worse any more.

[Bunny_boy]

I just saw Superl Bow performance with some guy called Bad Bunny. Only the name speaks for itself. Worst performance I have ever seen.
Don't care whether his music is ai produced or just a playback perormance, I think it really doesn't matter whether in future 99% of music will be full ai productions, it can't get worse any more.

Just watched it and thought it was excellent. The only weak point, I thought, was his voice. To me it didn't have much character, but I've not listened to anything by him before.
I really like music from southern American countries, so that worked for me (hmm, that last sentence seems a bit of an ignorant generalisation, but I'll leave it in)

[DCrown]

I like latin and Spanish music a very lot.
But that hip hop-like performance and his weak voice neither is special nor good imo.

[Neon Breath]

AI, AI, AI!
What do we need musicians and plugins for today? The question is not if AI replaces musicians and plugins, the question is how could anyone still use or buy plugins in 2026 knowing that in 5 years every plugin dev will...

Silicon Valley prophecies are always entertaining & funny to read.

[guitarzan]

I like latin and Spanish music a very lot.
But that hip hop-like performance and his weak voice neither is special nor good imo.

I didn’t bother with any of it but Bad Bunny had to be better than being subjected to the jorts sporting Kid Rock bad lip syncing loser-palooza alternative.

[mi-os]

The whole plugin ecosystem exists because humans want tools to shape sound, experiment, design, mix and develop their own workflow. If music becomes mostly prompt-based or fully automated, the end user is no longer a producer or sound designer but just a consumer of output.

I'm sure they said the same thing when synthesisers started to become popular and when analogue sequencers appeared, and when digital sequencers appeared and when DAWs came into vogue but "musicians" survived.

That's what some said, but they were wrong. With AI, it's a different story.

[bermudagold]

I just saw Superl Bow performance with some guy called Bad Bunny. Only the name speaks for itself. Worst performance I have ever seen.
Don't care whether his music is ai produced or just a playback perormance, I think it really doesn't matter whether in future 99% of music will be full ai productions, it can't get worse any more.

Just watched it and thought it was excellent. The only weak point, I thought, was his voice. To me it didn't have much character, but I've not listened to anything by him before.
I really like music from southern American countries, so that worked for me (hmm, that last sentence seems a bit of an ignorant generalisation, but I'll leave it in)

but his shtick is not from south american countries...his vocals and cadence are not varied or dynamic enough to be engaging...as performance art social statement sure...but that is a whole other thing separate from MUSIC...yet most media is describing it as "iconic" lol smh...no where near MJ, prince, or even bruno mars superbowls...what would have been "iconic" was bring out shabba, say RIP to steely & clevie and Gregory Peck, and give credit to the Jamaican dancehall culture vulturing that made him a star and an imaginary genre billions of dollars..so much for color blind "unity"...but the ending with the flags was a nice touch

With the whole western world making the maga pivot, I think the days of JayZ being in charge are numbered...they're great for the exposure and validation of the genres and the artists involved...but as social engineering they fail...i don't think dr dre, kendrick lamar, or bad bunny have a diverse enough appeal for the americana of the superbowl

[vurt]

The whole plugin ecosystem exists because humans want tools to shape sound, experiment, design, mix and develop their own workflow. If music becomes mostly prompt-based or fully automated, the end user is no longer a producer or sound designer but just a consumer of output.

I'm sure they said the same thing when synthesisers started to become popular and when analogue sequencers appeared, and when digital sequencers appeared and when DAWs came into vogue but "musicians" survived.

yup, music has been killed, many times over by new technology. i still have a "home taking is killing music" pin badge from the 80s here somewhere...
there were even people who said cds would kill music, or mtv.
it's like those religious nuts who think they are the ones living through armageddon!!
everyone thinks they lived in the best time and it's going down hill now, nope, it just seems shit, because we are old and have old people shit guung on, unlike teenagers who are just enjoying the ride, like we did. let the kids play, it will be fine.

[BONES]

I dunno, I think there are plenty of metrics to support the thought/belief that contemporary music's heyday is well and truly in the past. For me, it's the simple fact that even if I wanted to, there is no way I could go and see a live band every night of the week, there aren't enough venues or artists to support that any more. 40 years ago I used to be able to go and see 20+ bands a week if I wanted to and I could go for weeks without seeing the same band twice.

That's what some said, but they were wrong. With AI, it's a different story.

Why? To me it just looks like the next rung up the same ladder.

[sellyoursoul]

The main of the music industry has been dead for ~20 years now. Most of what is left since then are fading legacy artists and the modern music factory, narrowly pumping out cheap pop songs in genre costume of this or that pop, rock, country, independent, whatever. AI is making producing that product much easier now. On the flip-side, I don't see creatively driven people being attracted to having music generated to replace the creative process. But like it or not, the creative music that we all love from the past was driven by a thriving music industry in which creative people could take the time to be creative and earn a living at doing it. There is much less means to earn an income at it, since the masses tend to eat whatever is being served by industry. So I think that scenario will only tilt more, at a faster rate, with AI making it easier to pump out manufactured pop songs.

Hobbyists of the gens in which the music industry was alive kicking - those people most affected by music and the culture of it - will continue on hobbying. But over time I think that creative music is losing ground of significance in people's lives, which can only be accelerated by AI generated music.

At the same time, music as a means for influence likely isn't going anywhere anytime soon, whether it be for adverts, tv shows, or political rallies. So it may be that what is on the horizon is the death of music as a creative endeavor and means for human connection, being wholly replaced by music as a commodity for influence.

And it's mostly musicians who care about interesting specifics of sounds of gear. No musicians, no need for interesting tools.

Not to be grim.