In the age of AI, it’s easy to assume that machines can do it all—write stories, generate art, compose music. And while AI is indeed composing some catchy tunes, one question lingers: Can AI feel the beat? More specifically, can it replicate the emotional nuance that a human composer brings to a soundtrack?
For platforms like audio network, which provides music for film, TV, advertising, and online content, the answer is clear: not quite.
The Rise of AI in Music Composition
AI-generated music has come a long way. Tools like AIVA, Amper Music, and Google’s MusicLM are capable of composing background scores and ambient sounds in mere seconds. They’re fast, scalable, and relatively cheap.
For industries with tight deadlines and budgets, that’s a tempting offer.
But there’s a catch—emotion.
While AI can mimic structures and replicate styles, it doesn’t experience anything. It doesn’t know heartbreak, triumph, nostalgia, or joy. It can analyse emotional patterns in data, but it can’t create from an emotional place.
Why Audio Network Sticks with Human Musicians
Audio Network, which produces thousands of tracks annually, continues to invest heavily in human composers, session musicians, and live instrumentation. Why?
Because when you’re creating a soundtrack for a poignant documentary or a gritty crime drama, you need music that resonates deeply.
“We use real musicians because the feel, tone, and humanity in their playing are something machines just can’t replicate,” says Juliet Martin, VP of Marketing at Audio Network.
Research from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America shows that human-composed music activates more emotional centres in the brain than algorithmic counterparts. It’s not just what we hear—it’s what we feel.
Rhythm, Timing, and the Human Touch
At the core of music’s emotional impact lies something remarkably subtle: rhythm.
Not just time signatures or BPMs, but microtiming—those tiny, almost imperceptible hesitations or rushes that perform its soul. Humans naturally push and pull tempo in ways that AI, which strives for precision, typically avoids.
And those imperfections? They’re what makes music human.
Consider the way a jazz drummer lingers behind the beat or a string section swells slightly out of sync. These are not mistakes—they’re expressions.
AI, trained on perfect timing, struggles with that kind of expressive ambiguity.
AI as a Creative Assistant, Not a Replacement
This isn’t to say AI doesn’t have a place in music. Many composers use AI to spark ideas, generate basic chord progressions, or create draft layers. Think of it as a tool, not a bandmate.
Even Audio Network has explored AI to enhance its workflow, using it for cataloguing, search, and tagging. But when it comes to the actual music—the melody that makes you cry or that beat that makes you move—they’re still betting on human instinct.
The Future: Human-AI Collaboration?
Could AI ever learn to feel rhythm? Possibly. But we’re not there yet.
For now, AI remains a student of music. And if audiences crave authenticity, the soul of sound will remain a human signature.
Final Note
As creators, consumers, and curators of music, maybe that’s a good reminder: feeling the beat is more than just counting the bars—it’s about connecting hearts.
And no algorithm has mastered that… yet.
Also read: The Silent Revolution: Why No-Sound Videos Are Winning the Social Media Game
