Written by Dirk Jan Buter

AI is everywhere and it is also turning the radio world upside down

AI is everywhere and it is also turning the radio world upside down

Written by Dirk Jan Buter on April 04, 2024. Photo by Lotte (AI).

Developments in the field of AI are moving very quickly, also in the radio world. Then OpenAI came up with the revolutionary ChatGPT, and before you knew it there was the DJ, replaced by a friendly AI voice. And the first Dutchman to follow this trend is Stephan Verrips, who, as a true pioneer, has the DJ of his radio station replaced by AI. But wait, wait, wait, Jeffrey Wirtz is doing even better with HDFM, a station completely controlled by AI. Not only the DJ, but also the music is no longer made by people.

Royalty

Apparently it's a thing, it's difficult and especially expensive to play real music because of copyrights. “Starting a hobby radio station will cost you a fortune and you also have to pay a lot of money every month to Buma/Stemra and Sena,” Stephan explains. That money is then distributed among the artists. Dirk Jan nods in agreement and adds: "And those radio stations already pay those artists and music writers, so why also advertise their music?" It's just backwards, man.

But with AI you avoid all those costs, because the content is obviously not made by humans. A nice win-win situation. Jeffrey from HDFM understood this better than anyone and was the first in the Netherlands to apply this technique. He even invented fake news to deliver the news on his channel. Even funny to listen to, really smart.

Radio automation

Stephan Verrips, a software mastermind, collaborated with Marius Dima from AIRadio.Host, a service that uses artificial intelligence as a DJ. Stephan was the first in the Netherlands to implement this technology. With handy software called LinuxRadio.Tools, he ensures that radio stations can switch to automated radio without much effort, with or without AI.

Quality

The arrival of AI in the radio world naturally raises a number of questions. Will listeners appreciate AI music as much as music made by real people? And is the quality just as good? And will you soon be unable to score a hit without AI songs?

It really is a game changer, that AI in the radio world. It opens doors to new forms of radio and music and the possibilities are endless. But of course there are also concerns.

Bigger role of AI

Still, it's important to keep an open mind. The reality is that AI is becoming smarter and more creative. Jeffrey already said it, Skyradio is no longer fully staffed by people, and other radio stations also use certain forms of automation. It's time for AI to play a bigger role in the music and radio world.

Emotions are human work

But let's not forget that human emotion and creativity still play a leading role in music and radio. Artificial intelligence can help us, but in the end it is still the people who bring the passion and emotion into music and radio. Let's not see AI as a threat or a replacement, but rather as a tool to improve and innovate the radio world. Together, humans and AI can form the perfect combination for the future of radio. The arrival of artificial intelligence in the radio world may be inevitable, but together we can ensure this is a positive and exciting change. Actually pretty cool, right?

AI Music

This example clearly shows how quickly developments in the field of artificial intelligence are taking place. Listen to the following sound fragment.

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