Mick Jagger has one rule for AI music: Make it your own

Mick Jagger says "any kind of creative person" wouldn't use AI to imitate another. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Mick Jagger says AI should help musicians create something new, not imitate other artists. Those who are "clever" can use AI to their advantage "to make boring things go quicker," he said. But the creative work itself still has to come from humans, Jagger said. Mick Jagger says AI is another tool for making music — as long as it's used to create something original. In an interview with Billboard on Thursday, the Rolling Stones front man shared his thoughts on AI in music and the evolving role of technology in the studio. "You don't really want to be imitated by AI, obviously," Jagger said. "I don't want people just putting stuff out there that can sound exactly like the Rolling Stones. I think that's obviously wrong," he added. But he isn't opposed to the use of AI in the music-making process. "If someone wants to make music by AI, I mean, go ahead. But it has to be original, you know. It has to be you — you have to have your own input and your own thoughts," Jagger said. AI can be used to create great music, but it can just as easily produce something terrible, depending on the input, he said. Jagger added he sees AI as simply the latest step in the evolution of music recording technology, one of many changes he's witnessed over his six-decade career. Before computers entered studios in the late 1970s, mixing tracks required several people working together, he said. "In a way, if you're clever, you can use that technology greatly to your advantage to make things go quicker, to make boring things go quicker," Jagger said. But the creative process itself still has to be human, he said. "In my opinion, you've got to write the songs, you have to play them, and you play them live," he said. "Of course, you can overdub, I've been doing overdub since 1965, that's not new." Jagger acknowledged that some people are already using AI to generate songs from scratch in th