AI-Generated Music Videos

One of our fellow Everydays members, Brian Cliette, recently sent me a music video for Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”, except that the video is made entirely of AI-generated art. Basically, every single lyric stanza is represented by a different piece of artwork. And it makes for a super engaging video:

I quickly realized that this was a major movement over the past summer in the AI art communities that I completely missed. I spent about an hour watching music videos created with Midjourney, DALL-E, and Stable Diffusion. It’s a serious rabbit hole, particularly for 70s and 80s Rock ‘n Roll music.

Some of my favorite AI-generated music videos include:

• “Killer Queen” and “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen
• “Virus” by Deltron 3030
• “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath
• “ALL CAPS” by Madvillian aka MF DOOM and Madlib

What’s fascinating about this concept is that it’s not directly competing with artists but rather a means of taking creativity further. It’s adding a new element to existing creative works.

In many ways, it reminds me of the guy who used Midjourney to illustrate the graphic novel he wrote. Or the many people who are envisioning the Bible through AI-generated art.

As I’ve covered frequently on Everydays, AI-generated art has a narrative problem. Many people see this as a clear path toward replacing the arts. But this shows a less bleak side because there’s nothing harmful here.

For musicians that are early in their careers and cannot afford to shoot a music video, I see this as a great way to tackle YouTube content.

If I were a musical artist, I’d take a play out of Beeple’s playbook and create a fan competition out of the AI-generated music video idea. Prompt fans to generate artwork from your lyrics and pick the best ones to be featured in your official music video and even merchandise.

It’s becoming evident that Midjourney (and other tools) can be used in far more ways than just creating cool art. Whether it’s designing brand logos, creating an animated effect, plotting game levels, or creating tattoo designs, we’re only just now seeing how AI can be used as a creative collaborator. And those who can think beyond Midjourney for art are the people I’m betting on: