banning synths

How to deal with new tech – in 2024, all eyes (and a lot of hedge funds) are on AI. But history is often about repeating itself with some details changing. Consider back in 1982 when the UK Musicians Union voted to ban synthesizers, drum machines, and any electronic devices. Of course it didn’t work, in part because not all musicians in the world are part of a union (actually a fairly small percentage), and perhaps more importantly, there was money to be made. Manufacturers made and sold new gear, and studios were sometimes able to cut costs. Can be far cheaper to hire someone to program a drum machine than pay a skilled craftsman (and gear cartage, studio time, etc).

In some ways music is an interesting bellwether around emerging tech, and the lessons learned over the ages (recording tech, tape, vinyl, CDs, streaming, MIDI, etc) might be able to inform other creative industries as we grapple with AI in its various forms.