Liza Minnelli has released her first new music in 13 years, adding vocals to an AI-generated dance track.
The track, Kids, Wait Till You Hear This – is also titled his upcoming memoir — is an unexpected foray into deep house for the 79-year-old Minnelli, who adds a handful of verbal declarations in pumping support.
Minnelli has not released any new music since 2013, when she performed a track for the US TV musical drama Smash, and she expressed great confidence in the potential of AI-generated music.
On her Facebook page she announced ElevenLabs, the company behind the track, saying, “Six billion dollar techno giant (who is doing amazing work)… What will I not allow this great company to do? Create, clone or copy my voice! … We used AI arrangements. Not AI vocals… The screamers are all mine!”
In an accompanying press release, she said: “I’ve always believed that music is about connection and emotional truth. What I was interested in here was the idea of using one’s voice and new tools in the service of expression, not instead of it. This project respects the artist’s voice, the artist’s choice, and artist’s ownership. I grew up watching my parents create amazing dreams that were owned by other people. ElevenLabs makes it possible for anyone to be a creator and owner. It matters.”
The track is part of a compilation of other music created or modified by AI, and Art Garfunkel is one of the other featured artists. His track authorship includes a spoken excerpt from his memoir What Is It All But Luminous, which features a tribute to his father over AI piano backing.
Garfunkel said, “From microphones to multitrack recording, music has always evolved along with technology.” “What impressed me about this experience was the respect for the musician. The human remains at the center. My voice and technique just open another door.”
The pair’s enthusiastic contribution towards AI is in contrast to others in the industry: there are fears that AI-generated music will undermine the employment of human musicians, and copy the work of others without properly compensating them.
Ed Sheeran has said: “If you’re taking away a human being’s job, I think that’s probably a bad thing. The whole point of society is that we all have jobs. If everything would be done by robots, everyone would be out of work. I find AI a little weird.”
And Lil Wayne doubts AI can accurately copy his voice: “I’m naturally, naturally amazing. I’m one of a kind. So really, I’d love to see him try to imitate this motherfucker.”
A wave of new “generative AI” companies like Udio, Suno and Klay are nevertheless moving forward, striking deals with record labels to allow users to manipulate artists’ work with AI tools or create entirely new tracks using text prompts, based on AI that absorbs the work of others and uses it to inform new compositions. Artists can choose whether to opt for these services or not.
Record labels were initially hostile towards the companies, threatening legal action, but several agreements and partnerships have since been reached.
Following deals with Universal and Warner, Udio announced this week that it’s partnering with Merlin, an umbrella organization representing indie labels like Beggars Group, Epitaph, Domino, Sub Pop and Warp — meaning artists ranging from Arctic Monkeys to Aphex Twin can make their music available to Udio’s AI tools.
Speaking to the Guardian this week, Listen founder Mickey Shulman said the use of AI in music was already very widespread. He said, “I’ve been told we’re the Ozzympic of the music industry – everyone is on it and no one wants to talk about it.”
