Singapore music studios feel the squeeze as clients turn to AI-generated content

DISRUPTION TO CREATIVE OUTPUT

For decades, new technology has helped music studios work faster and more efficiently.

Digital audio workstations replaced analogue tape machines, while cloud services enabled remote collaboration. This meant shorter production timelines and lower costs.

But Mr Donny Pereira, managing director and founder of audio production company plusONE, believes AI represents a different kind of shift.

“With the dawn of AI, the difference here is dabbling in creative output … which then in turn determines the perceived value of the human output,” he said.

Mr Pereira said some plusONE projects have seen budget cuts of up to 60 per cent over the past two to three years, even as the volume of content being produced continues to grow. 

Part of the challenge is that AI tools allow clients to generate rough music concepts or voiceovers themselves before approaching studios.

“If the compression of budgets begins from the top (and) filters down, we are the first to be cut,” he said.