AI
Matt Ross and
AI
Matt Ross and
IBM training manual, 1979.

Gen AI for music has captured ~$300M in funding so far this year across several high-profile deals, the majority of which either focus on rights management and attribution (Musical AI, Vermillio, BRIA AI) or emphasize B2B partnerships (Music AI, ElevenLabs).
This suggests that industry alignment, rather than disruption, is the thesis that investors
Source: Water & Music, H1 2025: THE YEAR SO FAR IN MUSIC TECH DEALS
I feel this intensely and think about it all the time. Many people for whom I have tremendous respect, people I have been reading for many years, people who I look to to make sense of the world really do seem to dislike AI. All I can tell you is that for the last few years, I have been obsessively playing with it, building things with it and spending a lot of time trying to make sense of it. I can’t stop. It’s the exact same feeling and drive I had when I first installed Mosaic in the 90s. But this feels quite a bit different.

The irony is that I now know more than I ever would have before AI. But I feel slightly dumber. A bit more dull.
This whole post is very good. I don’t know whether Dustin is a canary or not, but he’s poking at some things I’ve been feeling to some degree.