The acclaimed composer says artificial intelligence is creating a flood of unoriginal music, undermining artists’ livelihoods and threatening creativity. Richter argues that musicians whose work is used to train AI systems should receive royalties.
British-German composer Max Richter has criticised the growing use of artificial intelligence in music production, describing AI-generated music as a “solution looking for a problem” and warning that it could lower public expectations of musical quality.
Speaking in an interview, Richter said AI systems were capable of remarkable achievements in fields such as medical research and mathematics but questioned the need to outsource human creativity to automated technology.
“I don’t think anyone has ever said the human race has run out of musical ideas; we need to outsource our creativity to an automated system,” he said.
Richter also raised concerns about the way AI music platforms have been trained, arguing that they have relied on copyrighted material without adequate permission or compensation for the original creators.
He called for royalty mechanisms to be built into AI systems so that composers and musicians whose work contributes to AI-generated output receive payment.
AI threatens musicians’ livelihoods
The composer warned that the growing volume of AI-generated tracks could dilute the music industry’s royalty pool, making it increasingly difficult for human artists to earn a living.
He compared the current situation to the early days of digital music streaming, when record labels negotiated agreements with platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music without adequately involving artists.
Richter said similar arrangements were now emerging between record labels and AI music companies, with musicians still lacking an equitable role in negotiations.
He also warned that the financial consequences could make professional music production increasingly inaccessible to emerging artists.
In his view, the industry could eventually become a field in which only those with independent financial resources or family support can afford to pursue music professionally.
Creativity as a response to global crises
Richter’s concerns about technology are also reflected in his latest album, While the Flood Rages, which draws on his music for a ballet inspired by Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy.
The composer said his work frequently responds to political and social developments, including war, displacement and technological change.
His earlier albums Memoryhouse and The Blue Notebooks explored the conflicts in Kosovo and the Iraq War, while Voices was inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Richter described music as a refuge and a means of developing empathy, arguing that creative work can offer an alternative perspective on a world increasingly shaped by crises.
He also said AI-generated music risked having a lasting impact on listeners’ musical expectations.
Describing such output as largely predictive and based on combinations of existing material, Richter warned: “It’s going to have a degrading effect on taste.”
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