Yeah I didn't really state that very well. My point was mostly what you say: because people are fans of artists, and because AI music is/will be essentially free to produce, AI music isn't something that will make money for anyone, unless it's the default way anything online makes money: ads are injected into it. I'm not going to pay for it. I'm not going to buy merchandise, or go to concerts, or do anything a music fan does and pays money for. I'm not even going to put it in a workout playlist, because I can just as easily make a playlist of real human artists that I like.

I disagree that it's a threat to the recording industry. They aren't going to be able to sell AI music, but nobody else is either, because anyone who wants AI music can just create it themselves. Record labels will continue to sell and promote real artists, because that's how they can make money. That's what people will pay for.

Fair enough but I'm not sure you're even going to realize if you're listening to AI generated music or not. One way of using these tools is to take lyrics and create several different melodies and vocal styles. An artist or a professional songwriter could do this and then either record their own version or pay musicians to perform it. That could be any combination of simply re-recording the vocal track, replacing or adding instrument tracks, making small modifications to some of the AI generated tracks, etc. The song can then be released under the name of the singer who can also go on tour in the flesh. You might also just come across a 100% AI song on a streaming platform and enjoy it and add it to a playlist. Who vets all of the music they listen to anyways? and if the producer manages the web presence of the "band" and provides a website it would withstand a cursory search. You'd have to look closely to determine that there are no human band members other than the producer. For the types of electronic music that aren't usually performed live and are solely attributed to one artist it might be impossible to tell. The line would be especially blurry there anyways due to the current extensive use of samples and non-AI automation.

There are a lot more fuzzy edges too, you can use AI tools to "autotune" your own voice into a completely different one. You can tap out a quick melody on a keyboard and then extend, embellish and transform it into a full song. You could even do the full song yourself first and then remix it using AI.

The point I agree on would be that one-click hits are going to be few and far between for a while at least. If no effort is put into selecting the best then it's really just random chance. I'd be willing to bet that there will be an indie smash hit song created by a single person who doesn't perform any of the vocals or instruments within a year though. It'll get no play time on anything controlled by the industry titans but people will be streaming it regardless.