To give you some context, although I work in the creative industries, specifically promoting live cultural entertainment events, I’m an engineer by training. I believe this background gives me a positive outlook on any new technological development.
Barcelona Events Musicals, a company I own, is renowned for promoting the Cruïlla Festival and for being one of the few remaining Catalan-owned cultural entertainment companies. It is also recognized for its customer-centric approach, data-driven focus, and commitment to innovation. Since 2024, in collaboration with the Autonomous University of Barcelona , led by the Center for Computer Vision , we have promoted and funded a Chair in music and AI, where we have identified high-impact projects. Personally, I chair the Barcelona Music Lab Foundation , which aims to position Barcelona as the epicenter of innovation in the music industry .
Before outlining my views on how AI will positively impact the music industry, I must confess that I have deep contradictions regarding the use of AI.
Often when we talk about AI, we talk about the technology, not its owners . Search engines are a positive technology, even though Google may be a questionable company. Social networks are a positive technology, although X (Twitter), Meta, or TikTok are questionable companies. Artificial intelligence is an essential technology, but I have doubts that Chatgpt , Claude, and others will improve our society. And these doubts stem from two main sources:
The first source of concern stems from the fact that creators have lived for over a century under a regulatory framework that protects copyright and has allowed the time and effort associated with the creative process to be compensated based on the use of their work. Companies offering AI tools have unilaterally and opaquely broken this regulatory framework and this compensation model for their own benefit. I believe a period is coming in which many creators will not be compensated for the use of their creations, and it is possible that the imbalances between the rich and the poor will increase. Some countries are already promoting public subsidies for creators, although I’m not sure this is a good solution.
The second major concern stems from the fact that the AI they’ve made available to us, at least in this initial stage, is designed as a social network , aiming to keep us connected for as long as possible. It’s designed for entertainment, not efficiency and productivity. To use a technological analogy, search engines provided us with free information in exchange for learning about our interests and consumption habits to offer data to advertisers. Social networks facilitated communication between friends and acquaintances for free in exchange for learning about our lives to offer data to advertisers. AI tools offer us unreliable opinions, and we pay for them and share our thoughts. This is the first time we’ve been made to pay and share our private information, not facts.
Despite these doubts, we are funding a chair in music and AI , developing a high-impact project within the framework of Eurecat’s CIDAI (of which we have been a part since 2023), and we are highly motivated and proud of the work we have done. We believe we can incorporate some AI use cases that will generate a positive impact.
Music is one of the few non-essential activities that is part of the daily lives of a large majority of people, and it has always been shown as an early Technological adopter . Streaming started with music, and now among the first major impactful cases of AI is music creation.
Within the UAB-CVC chair, there’s a magnificent AI use case. An enthusiastic group of researchers at the UAB has a project to recognize ancient musical scores . Thanks to this project, I’ve discovered that Catalonia possesses hundreds of thousands of scores by Catalan composers, from the 14th to the 18th centuries, that haven’t been performed for centuries because the documents require a difficult process of interpretation. We’re talking about handwritten scores that could be likened to hieroglyphics. In Catalonia, we could have an unknown Bach or Mozart because their work hasn’t been performed for centuries . This project would bring to light a musical heritage of incalculable value, and I believe it can incorporate a scalable business model.
Another example is the project we are developing with CIDAI . We are creating a tool to help manage cultural consumption audiences. UPC-IDEAI, CVC, and Eurecat are participating in this project , which is a great example of public-private collaboration. The project aims to personalize the experience of cultural consumers, both in terms of communication—improving the effectiveness of campaigns, texts, and graphics—and by optimizing the artistic offerings. I believe that audience management will eventually become a highly impactful academic discipline across all industries, and this project could be a good use case.
I couldn’t forget to mention the artistic work being done by Carles Marigó , a Catalan pianist and composer, with the AI for musical creation at Goldsmiths. University of London . Carles Marigó has been exploring the use of AI in his live shows, employing it as another instrumentalist. It is one of the first live AI applications with a spectacular result that goes far beyond pure experimentation.
These are just three examples of how AI applied to the music industry is having a positive impact , but there are many more. We are fortunate to have a unique ecosystem of researchers, innovation, and creative industries in Barcelona and Catalonia. Music is the only discipline to have received funding for two university chairs, and both are located in Catalonia.
Achieving international leadership is difficult, but the Catalan music industry is already a leader. Let’s capitalize on it!
