What is a “real” creator?

I found myself in an existential crisis today. I’ve been a writer and performer for 36 years and I’ve been creating web content for 30 (come October). I’ve been published as a poet, essayist, journalist, technical author, and as a writer of fiction. In fact, that’s most of what I’m doing with Bulmash Media LLC; working to build the audience for my writing and other creative output.

If you follow this blog, you know I use Suno to help me make songs. All the lyrics are mine, I often go through over a hundred iterations to find the right match, and I’ve got two songs where I’ve been able to get Suno to incorporate my melodies. One releases Friday and one releases on the 14th.

Suno isn’t a xerox machine. It’s a new kind of musical instrument that’s a lot easier for us with coordination and neurological issues to play. But according to Drew L. of Uhmbrella (in an article analyzing the work of a popular Spotify artist who uses AI) said:

“AI music is flooding streaming platforms at scale. Without proper detection or attribution tools, the industry has no visibility, no accountability, and no way to protect real creators.”

Real creators? REAL creators? This feels like the gatekeeping I encountered 15 years ago when a Google recruiter refused to even show my resume to a manager because I didn’t have a computer science degree. I had good demos and the recommendation of one of their coders, but the lack of a CS degree hobbled me. Many self-taught coders don’t just suffer from impostor syndrome, but they probably got impostor syndrome from being told so many times they weren’t a “real” developer, that when they finally got a job writing code, all that repeated abuse welled up as impostor syndrome.

Am I A Real Creator?

Hmmm… I have a degree in Creative Writing from the first school in the University of California system authorized to have its own undergraduate department of Creative Writing and give out a specific Bachelor’s degree in it. I was in the second graduating class to receive that degree.

I made some money from hosting karaoke at a West Los Angeles bar in the 90s and one in Seattle in the aughts, which is the extent of my musical credits pre-AI, but I’ve also professionally published fiction, non-fiction, poetry, journalism, essays, and technical documentation. I have trained with L.A. Connection and Second City for improv comedy, emceed the open mic night at a major Los Angeles comedy club, and been an invited speaker on 3 continents. And I’ve been creating web content since October 10, 1995, the day my first humor blog site went live. In 1996, a spinoff from that blog became a weekly feature on the Internet Movie Database. In 1997, that feature got press from People, Us, Newsweek, Wired, and the Washington Post (among others).

But apparently, if I use Suno, I’m not a “real” creator… Or am I?

Why yes, I am probably overreacting.

There are a lot of professions where gatekeeping and the clique of “real XYZ” exist. The arts and tech are two of them and I’ve run into it in both. So my first reading was one where I just took it the way I heard it too often. But honestly, I think he meant the fully automated stuff, not the stuff where a human uses AI to help them express what’s in their soul. Because any time a human creatively expresses what’s in their soul, it’s art and they’re a “real” artist or “real” creator.

But it’s good to sort of get a good idea of what is pure algorithm, and what’s got squishy bits in. I am ALL for transparency and regularly credit Suno when I post the works. I do not see why I shouldn’t. If you’re going to refuse to listen to a piece because it’s AI-assisted, your loss… and your bias. Yes, it is making the signal to noise ratio worse, but as more and more mediums for producing and distributing content have come along, more people have gotten into it. And it’s the same for all of us as creators… we’re competing for eyeballs, competing for commissions, and its easier and easier to get lost in the crowd. Basically the signal to noise ratio has been getting worse for decades. Yet we still seem to find enough media to consume (except when we have Netflix Decision Paralysys).

Knowing the sources of our entertainment is important, but the fact is that this guy with over a million listens on Spotify, AI or not, has a million listens. People are finding it compelling. When we get rid of all the hype and shade, music is supposed to do what all art is supposed to do… make you feel something, evoke images and thoughts. And whether it’s AI-assisted or 100% human, if you’re enjoying the sounds and the feelings/thoughts they bring to the table, it’s “real” and it’s created by “real” creators.