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3 days ago
- Entertainment
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ABBA Musician Bjorn Ulvaeus Says He's Using AI to Help Write New Musical
ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus is testing out AI-generated music to help him partially compose a musical 'A misconception is that AI can write a whole song. It's lousy at that — very bad. And thank God! It's very bad at lyrics as well. But it can give you ideas,' Ulvaeus said during a panel at SXSW London The musician didn't share exact details about the musical he is writing, but said it was about three-quarters writtenABBA's Björn Ulvaeus is testing the waters when it comes to AI-generated music. Speaking at a SXSW London panel titled The Future of Entertainment on Wednesday, June 4, the "Dancing Queen" musician, 80, opened up about using artificial intelligence (AI) to help him partially compose a musical. 'It is such a great tool,' Ulvaeus said during the panel Wednesday, per the Hollywood Reporter. 'It's unimaginable that you can bounce back and forth with a machine, or a software, which can give you ideas to go in various different directions.' Ulvaeus didn't share specific details about the music he is currently working on, but he shared that it is about three-quarters written and clarified that AI was acting as "another songwriter in the room," not that it was writing entire songs. 'A misconception is that AI can write a whole song. It's lousy at that — very bad. And thank God! It's very bad at lyrics as well. But it can give you ideas,' Ulvaeus continued. 'You have written a lyric about something, and you're stuck maybe, and you want this song to be in a certain style. So you can prompt the lyric and the style you want, asking, 'Where would you go from here?' And it usually comes up with garbage, but sometimes there is something in it that gives you another idea,' he added. 'That's how it works.' Ulvaeus also cracked a joke, saying that AI would be incapable of writing an ABBA song. 'It says, 'No, we can't do that,'' he said, before joking that AI is good for a few things — unlike his ABBA co-writer Benny Andersson, AI 'is quicker and does exactly what you tell it.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Ulvaeus' thoughts on AI-generated music are controversial ones — at least compared to other musicians. In April 2024, over 200 artists banded together to sign an open letter denouncing "AI-music generation technology" with the help of the Artists Rights Alliance. "We, the undersigned members of the artist and songwriting communities, call on AI developers, technology companies, platforms and digital music services to cease the use of artificial intelligence to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists," the petition began. "Make no mistake: we believe that, when used responsibly, AI has enormous potential to advance human creativity and in a manner that enables the development and growth of new and exciting experiences for music fans everywhere," it continued. "Unfortunately, some platforms and developers are employing AI to sabotage creativity and undermine artists, songwriters, musicians and rightsholders." Billie Eilish, Billy Porter, Brothers Osborne, Camila Cabello, Darius Rucker, FINNEAS, Imagine Dragons, J Balvin, Jonas Brothers, Jon Bon Jovi, Katy Perry, Metro Boomin, Miranda Lambert, Noah Kahan, Norah Jones, Pearl Jam, Sheryl Crow, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and Zayn Malik were among the many artists joining together. Artists such as Paul McCartney, Dua Lipa, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Sting and Ed Sheeran have also been vocal about AI's invading "the creative sector" in a letter to The Times UK in February this year. In the letter, the musicians argued that there is 'no moral or economic argument for stealing our copyright. Taking it away will devastate the industry and steal the future of the next generation.' is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! However, not all musicians are opposed to the emerging technology. Zedd argued to PEOPLE last year that musicians have been using a version of AI for years, citing music softwares that create instrumental sounds from the push of a button. "It's just that we haven't labeled it 'AI,'" he told PEOPLE amid a partnership with Intel for an AI experience. "I wouldn't be able, and I would have never been able, to make the music I make if it wasn't for AI," he added. "I'm excited for AI to get more useful, more applicable so that I can reach the goal of finishing music faster — so I don't have to let people wait another decade for another album." Read the original article on People
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3 days ago
- Entertainment
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ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus on Writing a Musical Assisted by AI and Those Kiss Avatars: SXSW London
Björn Ulvaeus, the Swedish ABBA singer, as well as songwriter, music producer and co-founder of Pophouse Entertainment, may be 80 years old, but he continues to be excited to create and tell stories through music and beyond. That was one of the key messages of his appearance during a Wednesday 'The Future of Entertainment' session at the first-ever SXSW London, which drew a huge crowd to the hip East London neighborhood of Shoreditch. In a wide-ranging discussion, he addressed writing a musical with the help of artificial intelligence, the London hit show featuring ABBA avatars and why his company is betting on Kiss to have success with a similar show. More from The Hollywood Reporter Banijay Has No Immediate Plans to Buy ITV Studios as CEO Talks Consolidation at SXSW London Letitia Wright on Overcoming Impostor Syndrome for Directorial Debut, Ryan Coogler Prophecy Death of "Grassroots" Live, Electronic Music Venues Gets U.K. Parliament Review: SXSW London 'Right now, I'm writing a musical assisted by AI,' the hitmaker shared on stage. While not sharing much detail on the project, he mentioned that it is a collaboration with a female creative partner and that he was about three-quarters through his work. So what is his experience creating music with AI? 'It is such a great tool,' he told the SXSW London audience. 'It's unimaginable that you can bounce back and forth with a machine, or a software, which can give you ideas to go in various different directions.' But Ulvaeus also made one thing clear: 'A misconception is that AI can write a whole song. It's lousy at that — very bad. And thank God! It's very bad at lyrics as well. But it can give you ideas.' He shared an example to illustrate a point. 'You have written a lyric about something, and you're stuck maybe, and you want this song to be in a certain style. So you can prompt the lyric and the style you want, asking, 'Where would you go from here?'' he explained. 'And it usually comes up with garbage, but sometimes there is something in it that gives you another idea. That's how it works. It's like having another songwriter in the room with huge reference frames. It is really an extension of your mind.' Speaking of songwriting partners, Guardian music writer and on-stage interviewer Laura Barton asked Ulvaeus how AI compares to collaborating with ABBA partner Benny Andersson. 'It's quicker and does exactly what you tell it,' he responded to laughter. 'But it's not the same thing as having a songwriting partner.' More laughs ensued when Barton asked if Ulvaeus has ever asked AI programs to write ABBA lyrics. 'It says, 'No, we can't do that,'' he replied. But he shared that he and Andersson haven't only produced hits. 'There was a period when Benny and I didn't quite know what garbage was,' he quipped. 'There's proof of that. People don't listen to that.' The ABBA star currently serves as the president of CISAC – the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers. So he also had business insight to share on how the AI and music sectors should collaborate. 'The AI music generators train on copyrighted material. They train on all the world's music. And for that, we feel that they should be paying something towards the songwriters and the artists and all those who actually created what they need to be able to create their AI models,' he emphasized. 'I think it's slowly happening. There's a debate going on in the music and the tech industries about how that remuneration might happen. Also, the U.K. government is supposed to take decisions about how to regulate, how to look at AI and so is the European Union.' He then suggested that a likely model to follow with AI is that of streaming deals. 'I think the model that is closest is the model that we have in streaming services where they have you subscribe, and part of the subscription goes back to the music industry, and that's what happens with Spotify, Amazon and all the others,' he said. 'That one might be the one that applies to this as well, but AI is something completely different, so we don't know.' Ulvaeus co-founded Pophouse in 2014 together with EQT founder Conni Jonsson. The company acquires and develops entertainment brands within music, podcast and gaming. In 2022, it also began a push into music catalogue investments. On Wednesday, he highlighted that this has allowed him to work with music from such names as Avicii, Cyndi Lauper and Kiss. In 2021, ABBA unveiled their comeback with the release of the album Voyage and the virtual stage show ABBA Voyage in London, ticket sales for which topped the 2 million mark in its first 19 months. Ulvaeus discussed the success of the offering and how other musical acts will benefit from similar shows. 'Kiss, we believe, could be a very interesting avatar experience in the kind of Marvel universe' in the digital age, he said. Indeed, Pophouse unveiled at the end of 2023 that 'Kiss, the legendary rock band known for electrifying live performances over a 50-year career and sales of more than 100 million records worldwide, is marking the end of its physical existence by crossing into the digital world. The new Kiss avatar shows will be the second immersive, avatar-powered music concert project that Pophouse Entertainment is involved in — following the success of the ABBA Voyage show in London, where Pophouse is the lead investor.' In Wednesday's conversation, Ulvaeus also discussed his continued appreciation of popular music, sharing that he currently enjoys Lola Young's 'Messy,' from which he intoned a line of the chorus, and how artists can future-proof their legacies in a rapidly changing landscape, including AI, immersive experiences and touring. SXSW London runs through June 7. Penske Media, the parent company of The Hollywood Reporter, is the majority stakeholder of SXSW. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More
