AI Tools Help Musician With Parkinson’s Finish Album
The Story
Samuel Smith, a London-based singer-songwriter with Parkinson’s disease, used artificial intelligence platforms to complete his second album “The Art of Letting Go” after tremors and fatigue made guitar playing difficult. The instrumental track “Horizon” was created by humming melodies into a phone and generating demo arrangements through AI song generators Suno and Udio. Smith stressed the AI demos were not used in the final studio version.
Key Facts
- Smith was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2020 and released his debut album “In the Springtime” in 2023.
- He used AI to produce demo arrangements for the track “Horizon,” requiring 50 to 150 attempts per demo.
- The album was produced by Grammy-winning pianist Matt Rollings with musicians including Jerry Douglas, Alison Brown, Stuart Duncan, Bryan Sutton, Viktor Krauss, Jonatha Brooke, and Glen Phillips.
- Grammy-nominated guitarist Julian Lage performed on the title track and “Horizon”; Smith managed a 10-minute guitar duet for the latter.
- On May 21, Smith collaborated with the Berklee Music and Health Institute for an event in New York focused on music and neurological conditions.
Conflicting Reports
Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Records sued Suno and Udio in June 2024 for alleged copyright infringement, though Universal later settled and partnered with Udio, and Warner with Suno. Suno and Udio denied infringement. In February, an open letter titled “So no to Suno” was published by artists including Tift Merritt, David Lowery, and Blake Morgan, expressing concerns about AI-generated works diluting royalties.
Still Unclear
No open questions identified in the source article.
Misconceptions
No widespread misconceptions addressed in the source article.
Key Figures
- Samuel Smith, singer-songwriter
- Matt Rollings, Grammy-winning producer and pianist
- Jerry Douglas, 16-time Grammy-winning dobro player
- Alison Brown, Grammy-winning banjo player
- Stuart Duncan, fiddler
- Bryan Sutton, guitarist
- Viktor Krauss, bassist
- Jonatha Brooke, singer
- Glen Phillips, singer
- Julian Lage, Grammy-nominated guitarist
- Ruaidhri Mannion, composer and music producer at Brunel University of London
- Tift Merritt, singer-songwriter
- David Lowery, musician (Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven)
- Blake Morgan, ECR Music Group President
Sources: abcnews.com
