Gen Z Doesn’t Know Music And AI Might Be the Only Fix

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Editor’s Note

The music industry has changed, and not necessarily for the better. In this provocative essay, Joseph Rodriguez argues that today’s corporate songwriting machine has left an entire generation disconnected from the craft, history, and soul that once defined popular music. But what if artificial intelligence could bridge that gap? What if AI could resurrect the sounds of Motown, The Beatles, and The Carpenters not as nostalgia, but as a tool for teaching, creating, and reconnecting with what made music memorable in the first place? It’s a bold, controversial idea that asks us to reconsider what we’re willing to lose and what technology might help us preserve.

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Watching a 40-year comparison of ‘Songs of the Year’ and ranking them made me think about how lost this generation is with music. Growing up, new songs became memorable not just from who wrote or performed them, but from the TV shows, movies, and even commercials they appeared in. Celebrities being fans of certain songs could help boost their popularity. It was rare that a live performance alone could make an artist or song, but singers like Adele proved there was still relevance in being seen beyond just a music video.

Yet nowadays, with new hits co-written by so many different corporate writers and “producers,” and the work suffering in its most basic form, nothing seems capable of taking a page from the past. Even though talented new artists exist, popularity doesn’t seem achievable unless they can get their songs in a hit Netflix or streaming show, or some TikTok-famous streamer goes viral and boosts their streaming numbers. Concert-going has become sporadic at best, and only the biggest names and stars of yesterday can still sell out venues anywhere in the world.

Whenever I meet Gen Z kids who claim to like good music, I feel compelled to test their musical knowledge, only to be disappointed time and time again. Even college students majoring in music seem to know nothing outside their own bubble of what they like. And even when they’re willing to learn more and be exposed to new genres or artists, it usually stops at the hits. With countless documentaries available at their fingertips from so many sources for free, nothing seems capable of being seen and heard outside their own bubbles of self-delusion and musical ignorance. But besides their parents, teachers, and music professors failing them, they could actually stand to learn something new from the past.

Aside from a random Spotify playlist or whatever album is rated or ranked highest, what if A.I. music existed from artists who can no longer make new music? If you could write, engineer, and produce classic or modern-sounding music with the help of artificial intelligence, would you want to make it, listen to it, stream it, download it, or even pay for it? Upon hearing arrangements of Beach Boys songs sung by The Beatles in their style using A.I., I wondered what possibilities are inevitable with this technology. I’ll never be able to time travel and be a songwriter for Motown on their assembly line for countless artists. The industry refuses to make mainstream music like that anymore, so I could never be a Norman Whitfield, Hal David, or George Martin. Or could I?

Writing lyrics has always been a passion of mine, with so many songs written and produced in my head. And as I have no band of my own, being in a studio would be my dream job, even if A.I. was my only band. I don’t mean this in the way I’ve heard with fake versions of existing songs, but rather how often I’ve been singing in the shower and come up with new lyrics, new verses, or another chorus. Entire songs that sound like classic Smokey Robinson, though no one would prefer to hear me sing them myself. Should such new music be denied publication? What if license and royalties were paid and it was allowed to chart? Imagine hearing a new Carpenters song in the number one Timothy Chalamet movie instead of another drab Billie Eilish tune forced upon us by her brother and the machine that supports them.

As a writer who should be threatened by A.I., I believe that once it can be proven that a machine, app, or software could write in my same cadence, style, and tone while remaining original, then having it as an accomplice could be beneficial for everyone. Studios already make the same movies over and over, so no one could tell if A.I. wrote and made those films. Roughly only 36 major studio movies are released each year. Writing opportunities in film are far fewer compared to music and television, yet getting a hit seems even harder. If writers could license bands and artists from the past to create something new, how could that not be the best of both worlds? Even de-aging actors has become more common and cheaper in movies nowadays. But until there’s a Warner Bros. merger and I get a call to write for a de-aged 21st century Clint Eastwood in my newly written Dirty Harry reboot, A.I. music could be the gateway to teaching Gen Z and Gen Alpha about the past with just enough of the future.

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Author’s Note:

About 15 years ago when I was in the studio, I told my collaborator about an idea for a concept album: creating songs with different bands and singers to purposely sound like artists from the ’50s through the 2000s. He told me I might have just invented a new genre of music. I laughed, and we wrote a Roy Orbison song together.

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About the Author

Joseph Rodriguez is a writer, screenwriter, and music enthusiast who bridges the gap between classic storytelling traditions and modern technology. Based in Texas, he crafts compelling narratives across television, film, and books, blending emotional depth with innovative ideas. A part-time investor and full-time visionary, Joseph brings a unique perspective to his work, exploring the intersections of creativity, culture, and technology. His writing reflects a deep appreciation for both the art of storytelling and the business that supports it, making him a versatile voice in contemporary media.