The Music Scout (Alternative) - August 2025
Author: Jay Goldberg
As promised, as I wait to see if there is any interest in me producing shows for syndication I will delve deeper into songs generated with the help of AI.
The intro sentence above should give everyone an inkling to how my outlook on AI music has changed. I went from “AI songs” last month to “songs generated with the help of AI.” There is a difference and after doing extensive work creating songs on Songer.co, I am convinced that there are different levels to song creation on AI sites. And note – Songer.co has informed me that it does not use samples or copyrighted materials in its song creation.
There has been a wide range of reactions to my AI-assisted music from some of the indie artists I deal with via my radio station. Some accept it, even if begrudgingly. Some use it. And some reject it and, even if not saying so directly, resent it.
First, so you know where I am coming from, I have personally been effected by AI. I have numerous books for sale on Amazon and other online booksellers, and since AI, my book sales have declined. People can ask AI to generate course materials for them. People can even get information (some correct, some not) on my approach and content. So even if not correct, potential customers believe they are getting what is in my books. So I have been impacted negatively by AI. However, it is here to stay and it shouldn't be surprising.
I mentioned earlier that there are different levels of creating songs with the help of AI. I started with minimum input from me and graduated to significant input from me. I went from creating AI songs to creating songs with the help of AI.
How? I started creating songs based on some of my favorite science fiction novels. The challenge? Summarizing the books down to 1,000 characters to fairly represent the book. Then on top of that, setting up the right mix of five genres and vibes to get music that not only you like, but that works with the lyrics. I had to keep tweaking the lyrics to get the story right and playing with the mix of genres and vibes to get music I liked. And of course there were times the lyrics worked but the music didn't and vice versa. It could take days of re-working the inputs to get a final result I wanted lyrically and musically. So no, it wasn't write something simple and let AI do what it wants. I needed to work the AI program to get AI to do what I wanted. The songs I created would not exist if not for my work.
I am currently working on a sci-fi rock music opera based on an original idea for a science fiction novel I've had for a long time. This has made the process even more challenging. Simply, there needs to be consistency on certain facts from song to song (e.g. the description of an alien planet) and the music has to flow from song to song on the concept album.
These projects (the songs based on original novels and my sci-fi rock opera) certainly involve significant input from me and, in my opinion, qualify me as a song-maker with the help of AI. I plan on signing up with a marketing service such as CD Baby and a PRO such as ASCAP when I finish my sci-fi rock opera. Songer.co has excellent customer service and helped me in the past by explaining their process directly to Mixcloud on my behalf (they did this on their own, I didn't have to ask) so now I can post all my songs on Mixcloud. In addition, I had a minor frustration with their process because of my approach of telling stories in songs, mentioned my frustration, and a short time later they tweaked their process and now, no frustration at all. It's terrific. That said, I have no doubt that if I run into issues with the marketing company or PRO I decide to use, that Songer.co will be there to help me if needed. If you decide to try them and join, you can use this link – I get two song credits if you sign up using it.
So that you can get a further feel of songs that can be created using AI such as Songer.co, I have links below for the songs I created for the science fiction novels. This will serve as the music for this month:
"The Legacy of Dune" by Rock on Neon (with the help of AI)
This song is about the novel Dune by Frank Herbert. Someone from a small record label I deal with on my station heard this song and it is now available on a compilation album, for sale on Amazon, and available on streaming services.
"Awakening on Riverworld" by Rock on Neon (with the help of AI)
This song is about the novel To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer, the first book in the Riverworld Series.
"Meet the Moties" by Rock on Neon (with the help of AI)
This song is about the novel The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.
"Ender's Redemption" by Rock on Neon (with the help of AI)
This song is about the novel Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.
"Michael From Mars, Stranger on Earth" by Rock on Neon (with the help of AI)
This song is about the novel Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein.
And finally, a three song set about the first novel in a series I love whose story is so compelling I had to tell it in three songs. This gave me the idea to do my original sci-fi rock opera, which will be ten connected songs.
"Well World and Nathan Brazil, Part 1" by Rock on Neon (with the help of AI)
"Well World and Nathan Brazil, Part 2" by Rock on Neon (with the help of AI)
"Well World and Nathan Brazil, Part 3" by Rock on Neon (with the help of AI)
These songs are about the novel Midnight at the Well of Souls by Jack L. Chalker
All "The Music Scout (Alternative)" content rights reside with the author.
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