Timbaland’s new AI-focused entertainment company, Stage Zero and its AI-powered artist, TaTa, may be groundbreaking for some AI enthusiasts. Some musicians, however, have spoken out, calling this an attack on the soul of art itself. The controversy speaks to a growing fear among creatives: that in the obsessive pursuit of AI-generated perfection, the industry is shortsightedly building a system that will make them, and their expertise, obsolete.
For Dominic Husbands, Co-Founder of creative agency Dot Inc, the current trajectory isn't just misguided—it's an act of cultural self-sabotage. His perspective comes from over a decade of experience at the intersection of brands, advertising, and music. He says the creative world is chasing a form of control fundamentally at odds with the nature of art.
Cast away: When art is pushed aside for business or technological gains, Husbands believes humanity is cast aside in the process. "Those who argue this is just the 'advancement of human progress' are essentially saying the older version of us is obsolete. In that process, you are deleting yourself—you just don’t know it yet. You’re choosing to be in control now, but you’re controlling a monster that will eat you in the end."
Off-key endorsement: The uproar against Timbaland’s AI venture wasn't just about replacing humans in music; his oversight of the actual tech sat poorly with many musicians and producers. "For him to have a stance on what he's doing and not have the technical knowledge to back it up shows he's not really invested in the product itself, just in what it means for him. If you're going to be this new AI creator forging into the future, you have to really know what it is you're doing."
The paradox of perfection: At its core, Husbands sees the direction of AI in the music industry as a fundamental misunderstanding of the creative process. The push for a flawless, AI-generated product ignores that art is rooted in human imperfection. "Art in its very center is the loss of control. It’s not about knowing the outcome, it’s about discovering something along the way. When you use AI to chase a ‘perfect me,’ what you’re really trying to do is elicit control." He adds, "Creating music is not just a data set or a process; it's a deeply human experience. To try and take the human out of that is inherently wrong."
The collateral damage: The problem, he explains, is that when money follows the masses who are satisfied with a lower bar, the entire creative ecosystem begins to devalue true expertise. "I do believe creators will be fine in the long term, but there will be a profound and probably negative impact—real collateral damage—in the short term. Eventually, content will become so homogenized by AI that people will start desperately looking for the human again. At that point, the masses will move to a discovery of new sounds that only a human can provide."
Augment, not replace: Despite being vocal about the flaws of AI's current implementation, he doesn't reject AI entirely. Husbands sees a constructive role for it as an equalizer for smaller creators or production houses. "There are ways that AI should be used to help actualize what's already there and what's inside. I don't think it should be used to overtake expertise." The danger, he says, is in allowing the inexperienced to "skip a whole development arc," devaluing the nuance and craft learned through years of practice.
Credit where it's due: When asked what an ethical framework would look like, Husbands points to data as the clear starting point. "The first investigation should be, how do we properly credit who this AI is trained on and how do we make sure that they are recipients of some of the profit?" He calls for government-mandated transparency from AI companies about their training sources, a system built on acknowledging the human origin of AI outputs and giving creators a clear right to opt out.
An immediate call to action: Looking forward, Husbands suggests protections, guardrails, and genuine conversation surrounding artists' wellbeing should be urgent matters. "To not talk about this and not find a solution before it’s implemented and widespread—at that point, it’s already too late," he concludes.