{"id":6058,"date":"2025-08-18T00:53:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T00:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/6058\/"},"modified":"2025-08-18T00:53:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T00:53:08","slug":"were-in-a-weird-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/6058\/","title":{"rendered":"We&#8217;re in a weird place"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/mac-demarco\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mac DeMarco<\/a> has criticised <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/tag\/ai\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">AI<\/a>-generated music, saying the industry is \u201cin a weird place.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul class=\"post-content-read-more\">\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1289\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b>READ MORE:<\/b><b>\u00a0<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/features\/music-interviews\/mac-demarco-interview-five-easy-hot-dogs-3478191\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Mac DeMarco hits his mellow patch: \u201cThere was a long time that I was pretending to be something that I wasn\u2019t\u201d<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Canadian singer-songwriter is currently preparing to release his sixth studio album, \u2018Guitar\u2019, on August 22 via Mac\u2019s Record Label. You can pre-order it <a href=\"https:\/\/macdemarco.lnk.to\/guitar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In a new interview with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/music\/features\/mac-demarco-guitar-interview-tour-live-album-b2808328.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">The Independent<\/a>, he\u2019s reflected on the changes in the music industry throughout his career \u2013 specifically the rise of AI.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re in a funny zone right now where AI is coming in and getting good at things, fast,\u201d he told the publication. \u201cThings start feeling paint-by-numbers sometimes. When you have AI bands coming around, and people listening to music without even realising it\u2019s AI-generated, we\u2019re in a weird place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Though DeMarco doesn\u2019t refer to any specific instance, it follows reports that a seemingly<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/seemingly-ai-generated-band-the-velvet-sundown-have-over-400000-monthly-spotify-listeners-3874381\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> AI-generated band called The Velvet Sundown had managed to rack up hundreds of thousands of monthly Spotify listeners in a very short period<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hear about people using AI to even write lyrics a lot nowadays, which is a bit like\u2026 give me a fucking break,\u201d he continued. \u201cI think it\u2019s about intention. If people want to climb the mountain, I guess you use the tools you can to get up there. I don\u2019t know what you\u2019re gonna find when you get up there, but hopefully you\u2019re happy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>DeMarco went on to discuss how his own album exists in this context, saying: \u201cThere\u2019s a satisfaction I have with this kind of thing, because of how pure and real it feels to me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s supremely of me,\u201d he continued. \u201cThe most important part of art is the human element, I think. Be it good or bad, that\u2019s what I want to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It comes during a period of controversy for AI technology in the music industry, with a recent study sharing the stark warning that<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/music-sector-workers-to-lose-near-a-quarter-of-all-work-over-next-four-years-says-study-3818880\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\u00a0people working in music are likely to lose a quarter of their income to Artificial Intelligence over the next four years.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/100000-ai-generated-tracks-are-uploaded-to-deezer-every-day-3834766#\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Deezer also reported that around 10,000 AI-generated tracks are submitted to the platform daily<\/a> \u2013 making up around 10 per cent of all its music uploads, and it has also emerged that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/ai-generated-songs-are-being-added-to-dead-musicians-pages-on-spotify-without-permission-3879795\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">AI-generated songs are reportedly being uploaded to dead musicians\u2019 profiles<\/a> on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/brands\/spotify\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Spotify<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/elton-john\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Elton John<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/coldplay\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Coldplay<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/dua-lipa\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dua Lipa<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/paul-mccartney\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Paul McCartney<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/florence-and-the-machine\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Florence Welch<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/kate-bush\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kate Bush<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/robbie-williams\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Robbie Williams<\/a>\u00a0are among those who this year\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/elton-john-coldplay-and-dua-lipa-among-400-artists-calling-on-uk-government-to-change-copyright-laws-amid-ai-threat-3861915\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">called on the UK government to change copyright laws amid the threat from AI<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/sza\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">SZA<\/a>\u00a0has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/sza-slams-ai-users-codependent-on-a-machine-please-google-how-much-energy-and-pollution-it-takes-to-run-ai-3878792\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">hit out at\u00a0AI users for being \u201ccodependent on a machine\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3872256\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mac_demarco_press.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1270\"  \/>Mac DeMarco. CREDIT: Press<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Guitar\u2019 will be the follow-up to 2023\u2019s \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/mac-demarco-announces-new-instrumental-album-five-easy-hot-dogs-3374263\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Five Easy Hot Dogs<\/a>\u2019 and the compilation \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/features\/music-interviews\/mac-demarco-interview-five-easy-hot-dogs-3478191\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">One Wayne G<\/a>\u2018. So far, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/mac-demarco-announces-new-album-guitar-with-the-sweetly-nostalgic-single-home-3872255\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">he\u2019s released the nostalgic single \u2018Home\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The album was written and recorded in November 2024 at DeMarco\u2019s Los Angeles home. \u201cI think \u2018Guitar\u2019 is as close to a true representation of where I\u2019m at in my life today as I can manage to put to paper,\u201d he\u2019s said of the record. \u201cI\u2019m happy to share this music, and look forward to playing these songs as many places as I\u2019m able.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/mac-demarco-announces-2025-uk-european-and-north-american-tour-3852943\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Elsewhere, he will be touring around the UK and Europe in November<\/a>, in between strings of North American dates. You can see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/mac-demarco-announces-2025-uk-european-and-north-american-tour-3852943\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">a full schedule here<\/a>, find\u00a0UK tickets <a href=\"https:\/\/ticketmaster-uk.tm7559.net\/c\/2862475\/431519\/7559?sharedid=NME&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ticketmaster.co.uk%2Fmac-demarco-tickets%2Fartist%2F1757601#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">here<\/a>\u00a0and US and European tickets\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ticketmaster.evyy.net\/c\/2862475\/264167\/4272?sharedid=NME&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ticketmaster.com%2Fmac-demarco-tickets%2Fartist%2F1757601\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">here<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere, DeMarco\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/king-gizzard-the-lizard-wizard-mac-demarco-the-war-on-drugs-feature-on-los-angeles-wildfire-benefit-album-3832764\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">recently featured on a benefit album for those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires<\/a>\u00a0alongside\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/king-gizzard-and-the-lizard-wizard\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">King Gizzard &amp; The Lizard Wizard<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/the-war-on-drugs\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The War On Drugs<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/my-morning-jacket\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">My Morning Jacket<\/a>\u2018s Jim James.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mac DeMarco has criticised AI-generated music, saying the industry is \u201cin a weird place.\u201d READ MORE:\u00a0Mac DeMarco hits&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6059,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[264],"tags":[291,18,117,19,6082,17,337],"class_list":{"0":"post-6058","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-indie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-music"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}