Shinedown guitarist Zach Myers has spoken out strongly against the use of artificial intelligence in music creation, criticizing the growing trend of AI-assisted songwriting tools in a new interview with Primordial Radio.
Myers addressed the debate over musicians using AI generators for melodies, harmonies, and lyrics, calling the practice “awful” and emphasizing the importance of real-life experience in songwriting.
“That’s awful. Here’s the thing, man. All these Nashville guys who are writing with that — I don’t even know the name of the app… It’s awful. Awful. You can hear it, dude. It’s so bad. How about you actually live a little life, go through some shit, and then write a song about it?”
He went on to clarify that while collaboration with other musicians is natural, AI has no place in his creative process.
“Here’s the thing: you can write with other people. But I’m not writing with artificial intelligence.
I ask ChatGPT a million questions a day. It’s not ‘how to write a song’ or ‘write a song with me.’”
Myers also compared the rise of AI in music to the early internet, arguing that technology often evolves beyond its original intent.
“Everything starts with a good purpose, right? The internet started with a good purpose. Now it’s just us talking shit about each other… And now it’s gonna write songs for you.
If you can sleep at night and you got a Number One song because you wrote it with your iPhone and some computer told you how to sing it, that’s your burden to carry, man, not mine.
This is the most cocky thing I’ll ever say in my life — we got 24 Number Ones without using a computer.
Don’t use A.I. to do your work for you.”
Myers’ comments echo sentiments previously shared by Shinedown frontman Brent Smith, who has also made it clear the band’s recent album “Ei8ht” was created entirely without artificial intelligence.
Smith previously stressed the importance of human creativity in music, saying the band prioritizes emotion, collaboration, and “a heartbeat” in their songwriting process.
‘Ei8ht‘ was released on May 29 via Atlantic Records.
If you’re rocking with The Mosh Network, hit the link and add us as a Preferred Source on Google. That’s the easiest way to keep our latest metal, hardcore, and alternative news, tours, and releases showing up directly in your feed.
[Via Blabbermouth]
