Timbaland is doing something that is sacrilegious in the music industry. The Virginia producer is going to be incorporating AI technology into his work. Recently, the hitmaker launched his very own artificial pop label called Stage Zero.
He revealed that he's been thinking about this idea for some time and wanted to push boundaries. "I’m not just producing tracks anymore. I’m producing systems, stories, and stars from scratch," Timbaland in a statement.
Overall, the backlash has been strong. Fans have been voicing their disappointment with Timbo opting for generated music and removing the human element altogether. After seeing the hate, he decided to double down on his choice by posting an AI video of animals trolling those bashing his vision.
But despite him toying them, Timbaland did want to speak his peace and foster a healthy discussion about it. "I know I'm trolling but let's have real conversation. I love my independent artists. This doesn't mean I'm not working with real artists anymore. And nah I don't train ai off y'all music. This just means more creativity for creators. Going Live tomorrow. Let's talk about it," he said on his Instagram over this past weekend.
He eventually did and with Young Guru, Jay-Z's engineer, online personality 19Keys, as well as his close friend and Verzuz collaborator, Swizz Beatz. The former was one of many displeased with Timbaland's decision and he ripped him face-to-face on the livestream.
Timbaland AI Artist
But Swizz came to his contemporary's defense, as caught by AllHipHop. "I’m happy that Tim is into AIt. Because all the white people in it. Why we can’t get in it? I don’t care how. It’s not how you start; it’s how you finish. So, this is Tim’s entry point into AI. Whether we like it or not, it’s an entry point."
Still though, like Young Guru, Swizz Beatz did have an issue with how sudden this Stage Zero announcement was. "I don’t expect people to understand what we doing. The only thing I would critique is that we could have communicated this a little better to the people. Because that’s a hell of an announcement," he later added.
Overall, it's going to be fascinating to see how Timbaland's endeavor pans out. So far, he's already got "A-pop" artist on his label. Her name is TaTa and she was created by Suno AI. The veteran is very excited about this signing and is quoted as saying, "[TaTa] is not an avatar. She is not a character. TaTa is a living, learning, autonomous music artist built with AI. TaTa is the start of something bigger. She's the first artist of a new generation. A-Pop is the next cultural evolution, and TaTa is its first icon."
