Disclaimer: this no disrespect to s***workers because imo, s***workers in 2025 got more standards than musicians today.

Inspired by the musicians on here and irl that willingly accept the technocratic tools of the nazi pedophiliac elite without any form of a backbone (or AI) & a conversation with a friend in filming industry.

When actors and writers realized the dangers of what AI could do? They immediately striked to protect their likeness and identities as they knew s*** like this could infringe on their way of living.

And what the f*** did we do? Just accept the gimmick like it was no big deal (e.g. drake, timbaland, people validating using it to assist in creating songs) with NO strike and or NO pushback just taking it lying down.

Just spread eagle bro.

S*** gets me mad yo. Musicians the only medium that bands will accept doing a 2-3 hour gig at a restaurant (where said musicians gotta bring the entire backline) with low pay and free drinks.

Where yo balls at nigga?

We devalued our own thing yo.

@Undisclosed @hadjigaviota @YoungNastyShawty @Brave @AmoryBlain

The homie in film asked for my rate and I was like u the homie discount, she asked for my full rate and then afterwards asked “why as musicians you guys offer your services for such cheap money?”

Question f***ed me up for weeks man

trauma

Artists traumatized by mere nature in every medium

Talked about this before

Film got together and made Hollywood stay off of AI for writers and actors (can be used in effects n poster artwork tho) for at least 10 years 2 years ago WITH a guarantee to at least try to re-negotiate again

While music people either didn't believe in the threat, tried to "invest" into it themselves (it will never be as good, easy to use nor as useful as the ones the corps have), thot they were too good for it to matter for them and/or thot it wouldn't be an issue for "their era" passing the buck to the next

Stupid, selfish and shortsighted

Meant to tag you too brethren

But yeah s*** getting me aggy

well there’s no musicians union and i think it would be hard for there to be one when it’s a much more democratized medium and much easier to get into than film

i think you can’t really compare the two unfortunately

It's also because music, especially in the Rap and Pop spaces, is really cagey with information on stats and money average rates in "legit" professional environments and are also the hardest n "mysterious" to try to get work for and to work in

So it becomes guess work and a lot of "small business" out competing since no one knows or has a basis of an average and a route

You can unionize on a professional major level, and there have been attempts

There are just more artists willingly to be sellouts or desperate than the ones that will hold the line

It has fallen apart the last two times during the brief of where the labels try to starve you out, just like any other medium or industry in and outside of entertainment, film also did it to theirs but most of them held strong

The starving out chapter from your industry when you try to unionize is the part you have to survive to make a union successful and a precedent

what would be in place to stop someone like timbo from going independent with his ai slop? unless you stopped radio stations or streaming platforms from playing anything independent which i don't think is a good thing

It has nothing to with independent, it would have to be a union against the major 3 labels.

The major 3 labels are also basically one mega label, like Hollywood, when you break down their business ties and how it all leads back to basically the same road(s) and how they all have dealings with one another.

• The 3 labels are also tied to some major indie labels and a good amount of mid tier labels - so having a union against the major 3 will plug most or at least the biggest holes and issues.

Timbaland playing with computers in his personal corner of the world/internet isn't a big deal for artists, but the 3 majors playing with AI is a big deal.

• The union needs to be against exploration of themselves from AI, not AI as a concept or invention

• The exploitation the union needs to protect against from the major 3 labels, music's Hollywood, is of three main points - 1. of them using their voice without permission (or without payment) - 2. outsourcing engineering, writers and production jobs to AI technology - and 3. using our work as asset and creative sources for generative AI technology without permission and payment.

Those are the most pressing and most real world dangerous, then you can lobby for optional less detrimental likely things such as the labels themselves can't create an entire AI entity, and/or the labels cannot sign a completely AI entity made from some other person or company.

Lobbying and unionizing against the 3 major labels and pinching down AI technology areas and use cases of cancelling them out all together or at least the most obvious, requiring permission and payment, will filter out and prevent most problems from AI in music - especially in the mainstream aspect.

Ehh 2 very different industries.

To pretty much do any tv/film work you need to work directly in that industry, where shows or movies are being funded by corporations and actors, writers, etc are considered employees.

While music is far more decentralized when it comes to creating and releasing music. And since artists are considered independent contractors it makes it all the more difficult to unionize efficiently

Scooter Braun is the devil and nobody can convince me otherwise.

Dude managed - Ye, Bieber, and Ari and all them got bad mental health problems.

The Industry treats them like work horses until they can bleed all the money from them and they toss them to the bushes.

Every artist should own their masters on 63rd.

You see the story about the AI country song?

No?

whiskeyriff.com/2025/11/08/an-ai-generated-country-song-is-topping-a-billboard-chart-and-that-should-infuriate-us-all

An AI country song is on top of the country billboard charts

Edit: it’s the “Country Digital Song Sales Chart” which I’m sure is one of the easiest things to game but still notable

There actually is a Musicians' Union in the UK which was reasonably powerful during the postwar period. To your point though, it was only really able to exert its influence over the radio, television and film industries where there was a pre-existing barrier to entry.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needle_time was probably their biggest achievement

easiest to replace

Xania Monet and Tata Taktumi entered the chat.

Because the current model hasn’t broken, but we continue to fight. Until the labels and venues acknowledg that they are generating profits in this music world unprecedentedly and pay accordingly, artists will not be able to make a livable wage in the download/streaming music world

There is no labor union to strike from.

If they formed one, they could also negotiate with streaming companies and record labels for higher pay

I think there is the bare bones of one with like ASCAP. It just needs to be fully fleshed out and adhered to

UMAW?

weareumaw.org

idk about the structure of this and the extent of what they can provide though

I only use film because of my real life examples, but I have friends in photography for example and I know as difficult as that job is, I also know you cant short change a photographer the way musicians get short changed a lot (especially when said photographers got their own studio that they work out of with their clients) y’know what I mean?

It just feels like music has been the fastest decreasing artform in recent years and we (musicians) let it happen without so much as a single pushback.

There should be national outrage about AI hitting the charts but no, Carti and Weeknd both had AI on their own goddamn albums.
I ask again, “WHERE TF YO NUTS AT NIGGA?

I wanna punch some of these niggas bro.

This has been something but it is still new and the irony of joining a union while covering a demographic that legitimately might just be too broke to afford a union fee is also what plays a part and it not catching on.

But I do follow them on IG. They be spitting real s***.