Brico and Carrefour opt for AI music in their stores: “Artists in Belgium risk losing a quarter of their income”

by Sportsfanno1

34 comments

  2. I can’t believe this is actually where we are going as a society. You guys want to hear garbage music generated so Carrefour can push their 1+1 fishstick deal on you? What a greaaaaat dystopia.

  3. That’s disgusting. Man, who even wants this? Other than the people getting to fill their pockets. What’s wrong with just having the damn radio on?

  4. Everything to save a buck. The corporations want more money and they don’t care who they hurt in the process

  6. Nja, sabam is al langer een criminele maffieuze organisatie. Nu er langzaam een werkbaar alternatief is, is een opt out zeer begrijpelijk. 

  9. > Enkel origineel gemaakte muziek kan een uniek emotioneel gevoel geven. Rechtenvrije, generische AI-muziek kan dat niet.

    I’m not in favour of robbing Belgian artists of 25% of their regular income through royalties, but let’s not pretend that this is about anything other than economics and money.

    Desloovere’s argument that it is impossible for people to feel *real* emotions^TM when listening to AI-generated music is a bunch of crap and he knows it.

    > “In die zaak wordt duidelijk aangetoond dat AI-modellen bestaande muziek gebruiken als inspiratiebron. Ons standpunt is dat er auteursrechten betaald moeten worden aan artiesten als hun werk wordt gebruikt om AI muzikaal te trainen.”

    This seems like a slippery slope to me. By the same logic, wouldn’t any musician who writes a rock song have to pay royalties to every rock artist before him/her, because people are inspired consciously or subconsciously by previous works of art just as much as an AI-model is? The big advantage of man-made art is that it doesn’t default to the most generic thing possible like AI does, but that’s not a valid argument for Sabam’s position here.

    TL;DR: the artists’ economic worries are entirely valid, but Sabam is full of crap when they pretend that this is about “true art”, or anything more than them and their represented artists wanting to retain their income.

  11. Last time I was in Carrefour they had an obvious AI song playing with the lyrics being about a “cheesecake dance”. Like wtf, it made absolutely no sense.

  12. This is why I love Colruyt, no distracting music when I am doing my groceries.

  14. We have ads we can’t skip on YouTube with ai music…now this? I don’t want to hear that garbage

  17. Soon: “Why are there no good artists anymore? Why are artists leaving Belgium? It must be the leftists”

  18. Alsof ik nog ne reden nodig had om de Carrefour te boycotten

  19. Well I know where I won’t be shopping.
    I don’t need AI slop pumped into my ears.

  20. Koptelefoon permanent op m’n kop dan.
    Save a buck, zet de radio af, dan spaart ge u nog een paar watts aan elektriciteit ook.

  21. If you ever went to Brico and actually listened to the music you would’ve noticed it’s already super dystopian and otherworldly.
    It felt AI to me because of the super basic and cheesy lyrics and the very beginner chord progressions. So a month ago i couldn’t hold myself in and just straight up asked.

    They told me it’s a playlist of beginner musicians. So they don’t have to pay that much.
    Yet still i wonder, because of how bad the music was, if it isn’t already actual AI music…

    Go and visit a Brico and actually listen for a while. It’s very weird.

  22. I’m only surprised by the fact that artists in Belgium get a quarter of their income by what’s playing in Brico and Carrefour.

  23. “Toen de man van Sabam langs kwam
    En hij al mijn geld meenam
    Inde deze brave man
    Ook voor een pot Suzy Wan”
    – basta

  24. I was walking around in Krëfel and I swear every song that played I never heard before and the lyrics were beyond generic, I’m fairly certain they were all AI generated.

  26. Waarom ook direct grijpen naar AI muziek in plaats van naar de gigantische hoeveelheid rechtenvrije muziek op het internet? Dat klinkt beter dan zo’n AI brol en is nog steeds goedkoop.

    Dit klinkt echt alsof zo’n bedrijfsleider het “toverwoord” AI gehoord heeft en dat meteen zonder nadenken op zoveel mogelijk wil toepassen.

  27. Ik wist het!!! Ik was in de Carrefour en vond de muziek er heel AI klinken, Je hoort dat aan de lyrics.

  28. People don’t go to a supermarket to feel emotional about the music, they’re there for functional reasons only. The Sabam’s spokesperson makes it seem like supermarkets are like a festivals where buying food & drinks is more closely tied to your your musical experience. When I’m shopping I ideally want no music or just minimal background music.

    The entire model of Sabam has been outdated for quite a while now and it’s just starting to show cracks. The idea that they’re actually representing artists and more specifically safeguarding Belgian artists is utter bs.

    A better, probably cheaper way would be to work directly with Belgian artists (if they’re not managed by Sabam). This way the supermarkets actually promotes Belgian artists instead of the playing the mostly international music they usually play.

  29. All third spaces have to disappear to satisfy our individualist, capitalist gods and now even our music and culture has to. And you will not resist

  30. Als daarvoor Q music opstond, is het wel een verbetering nu.

  31. A basic income scheme for artists is a better solution than rights management. Sabam money goes to the few percent who got lucky, and even then, primarily to megastars like Beyonce or whatever that really don’t need any more money, or even worse, conglomerates that bought the rights to the music.
    That’s not “artists in Belgium”.

    Copyright being sold as a way to support artists is such bullshit.

  32. Of course this was going to happen, it’s way cheaper and easy to obtain. Especially if there is no copyright law that prohibits AI companies to pay a share to the artists.
    And yes, as others have said, the money they save won’t go towards cheaper prices, but to the bonuses of the executives.

    That being said, SABAM is also a power/money hungry organization that protects artists half as much as it tries to extort people using music normally.

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