Harmonizing Sustainability with Media Music Composition
The content of this article/series on music & AI is written entirely by artificial intelligence. Read our ‘introduction into AI in Music - generated’ why and how we as editors of Private Kitchen create these articles.
editors note: The images in this article are entirely created by graphics AI model DALL-E. Don’t be surprised if texts in them look real, but if you take a closer look…
Introduction
In the AI era, our generative and creative new tools come at an environmental cost. The growing use of generative AI, exemplified by platforms like ChatGPT, MidJourney, and Stable Diffusion, has led to an unprecedented demand for electric power, challenging our efforts to limit global emissions and rely on renewable energy sources. While the use of AI in media music production is still relatively new, it is also expected to significantly contribute to energy consumption. This article aims to explore the environmental impact of the media music industry and how AI can help mitigate it, offering insights for a more sustainable future.
Current Challenges in Media Music Composition
The media composition industry is not immune to the environmental crises we face globally. The use of AI and digital tools, while enhancing creativity and efficiency, also contributes to significant energy consumption and carbon footprint. How about the rest of our home studio equipment and the everyday life of the media composer at work? Let’s have a look at some examples.
Resources and Studio Impact: Modern (home) studios are equipped with various electronic devices that consume considerable energy. Additionally, the mining of the resources, the construction materials and waste generated pose environmental concerns.
Travel and International Collaboration: International festivals, workshops, and recording sessions necessitate extensive travel, leading to high carbon emissions (especially when transportation is by plane). The operation of concerts, (film)festivals themselves, along with the production and transportation of physical goods like CDs and merchandise, further aggravates the industry’s ecological footprint.
Digital Storage and Cloud Computing: The shift to digital music production and distribution heavily relies on cloud computing and data centers, which are significant energy consumers. Storing vast libraries of digital audio, samples, and project files requires not only substantial physical storage space but also continuous energy for data management and cooling systems. The growing trend towards high-definition audio formats (in surround) further exacerbates the energy demand.
Chart illustrating the carbon footprint of various aspects of music production. It includes categories such as studio energy use, travel for concerts and festivals, electronic equipment manufacturing, digital storage and cloud computing, and physical media production like CDs and vinyl.
Sustainable Practices in Media Music Production, Positive Impact, and Solutions
AI's Role in Sustainability
The rising energy demand of AI presents a dual-edged sword in the context of sustainability in music production. While its power requirements are substantial, the domain of AI is rapidly evolving towards greater efficiency. In fact, AI might not only mitigate its own footprint but also propel forward innovative solutions for sustainability in music composition and production, as exemplified by this AI-written article.
Green Studio Initiatives
Transitioning to a more sustainable practice within music studios involves several key steps:
Energy-Efficient Equipment: Opting for devices and tools that consume less energy, thereby reducing the overall carbon footprint of the studio.
Renewable Energy Sources: Harnessing solar, wind, or other renewable energy sources to power studio operations.
Waste Management: Prioritizing recycling and upcycling of electronic waste.
Encouraging practices like turning off devices when not in use and shutting down all equipment when leaving the studio to conserve energy (this means turning off the power as many devices still consume energy when in idle, sleep, or standby mode).
Reducing Travel Impact
The global nature of the music industry often necessitates travel, but there are sustainable alternatives:
Virtual Collaborations: Utilizing technology for remote collaborations, such as orchestral recording sessions where composers can interact with musicians from their home studios.
Carbon Offsetting: Implementing measures to offset the carbon emissions from necessary travel, contributing to environmental projects or renewable energy initiatives.
While carbon offsetting presents a viable solution to compensate for the emissions from necessary travel, it's crucial to approach this method with discernment. The market for carbon offsets is complex, and not all projects provide long-term environmental benefits. Some, unfortunately, are commercial ventures that contribute minimally to genuine sustainability efforts. It's important for individuals and organizations to thoroughly research and select offset projects that are transparent, verifiable, and have a proven track record of making a real environmental impact.Local Storage Solutions: Emphasizing the use of local storage over cloud-based solutions to reduce the reliance on energy-intensive data centers.
Inspiring Change through Music
Music has the power to inspire and drive change. Composers can leverage their art to emphasize environmental themes, thus raising awareness and inspiring listeners towards sustainability and call to actions.
Community Engagement and Policy Influence
Engaging with the community and influencing policy are key aspects in promoting sustainability in the music industry. Educational workshops and collaborative projects not only spread awareness but also inspire collective action towards environmental stewardship.
In this context, national music authoring rights organisations play a pivotal role in fostering sustainable practices within the music community. In the Netherlands, Buma/Stemra stands as the leading organisation in protecting the rights of composers and publishers. These organisations can leverage their influence to advocate for and support initiatives that emphasise green studio practices, eco-friendly music events, and research in sustainable music production. Their investment strategies can also make a substantial impact by channelling funds into sustainable projects and companies. Moreover, as respected entities in the music industry, they can lead by example in adopting sustainable operations and encouraging their members to adopt similar practices.
Their active participation in shaping eco-friendly policies can set a standard for the industry, reinforcing the importance of sustainability in all aspects of music production and distribution.
Infographic summarizing sustainable key actions that can be taken [such as utilizing renewable energy sources for studio power, engaging in virtual collaborations to reduce travel, implementing waste management through recycling and upcycling of electronic waste, advocating for eco-friendly music industry policies, and integrating AI for energy optimization in studios
Looking to the Future - Calls to Action
As we move forward, the intersection of AI and sustainability is poised to play a crucial role in reshaping media music production. AI's potential extends beyond mere composition; it offers possibilities for smarter, more sustainable music production processes.
We anticipate AI systems that can help optimize energy use in studios, advising on efficient practices and sustainable equipment choices. In terms of collaboration, AI could significantly reduce the environmental impact of international projects by facilitating virtual interactions that are as effective as in-person sessions.
Moreover, the role of AI in educating the next generation of composers is vital. It holds the potential to instill a deep understanding and commitment to sustainability in music production, right from the learning phase.
Looking ahead, the integration of AI into music composition and production offers a promising path towards a more sustainable industry. We envision a future where technological advancements and environmental consciousness go hand in hand, leading to a more responsible and eco-friendly approach to music creation.
Futuristic artwork depicting a sustainable, AI-integrated music studio
Private Kitchen encourages you to be part of this transformative journey. Your contributions, whether through adopting sustainable practices in your work or engaging in discussions about AI and sustainability, are vital in shaping a future where music production harmonizes with our environmental responsibilities. Together, let's embark on this path towards a more sustainable music industry.
In the spirit of innovation and collaboration that characterizes our era, we recognize that the challenges we face are not just for individuals to tackle alone. The ethos of our generation will have to evolve from 'Do It Yourself' to a more inclusive and powerful 'Do It Together.' This journey towards sustainable media music production and AI integration is a collective endeavor, one that thrives on our shared efforts, insights, and commitments. Private Kitchen invites you to be an active part of this transformative collaboration. Together, let's create a legacy of sustainability in the music industry, harmonizing our creative passions with our responsibility towards the planet and its inhabitants.
Music declares emergency
Together with many organisations, MiMM, as the producing organisation behind Private Kitchen, is a supporter of the MusicDeclares initiative, see what you can do :
https://musicdeclares.net/ and more specifically https://musicdeclares.net/gb/take-action
A Human Aftertought
As most of our readers have understood, the growing use of AI needs enormous amounts of electric power. A demand that can hardly be supplied, let alone be supplied from renewable energy sources (read more here / forbes.com - or here / bbc.com). This means our use of AI competes with all other electrical tools from our social media in data centres, our backups in the cloud, but also gearing our (home) studios and media productions.
AI is not new. The enormous amount of use of AI, due to its successes like ChatGPT, MidJourney and Stable Diffusion is new. And it’s adding to the enormous use of energy we were already coping with and have to limit if we want to reduce our global emissions. The ones stating that “AI is an existential threat to humanity” might have missed the memo that we’re already facing an existential threat: our ecological footprint is too big and the safe boundaries for life and living on our one and only Earth are being (tres)passed for decades now.
Luckily for us, Music, and media music in general don’t pollute, right?
Well… while music itself doesn’t pollute, its creation, recording, publishing, and distribution certainly do. Every (digital) tool and instrument we use in our studios and for media production comes at an environmental price. Recognizing this, we must engage in a collective effort to ensure future generations can enjoy music on a thriving planet. As MusicDeclares aptly puts : 'There’s no music on a dead planet.' This stark reality reminds us that we're all in this together, facing a collective challenge that calls for unified action and commitment.
In this article we tried to have AI make up for part of the impact of the media music industry by giving an overview of the impact of gear, processes, travels, etc. and provide possible ideas, suggestions to compensate and potentially even have a beneficial impact on the environmental footprint.
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