Business

Many Music Producers Are Secretly Using AI: New Study

Readers of a certain age are acutely aware of the wild ride the music industry has been on over the past few decades — from vinyl to cassettes to CDs to mp3s to streaming, the way we listen to (and buy) music has changed dramatically.

And now, with the advent of AI, the way that music is created has experienced a seismic shift, as well. And as much change that we’ve seen in recent years, we haven’t seen anything yet, says Helmuts Bems, CEO of studio monitor and headphone calibrating company Sonarworks.

Bems’ company recently conducted a wide-ranging study called AI in the Music Industry – Should You Fight It, Ignore It, or Embrace It? Based on interviews with more than 100 industry professionals and music consumers, the goal of the study was to take a snapshot of where the industry is now so that those working in it can “be better prepared for what’s to come.”

Here are Bems’ thoughts on what the study’s data reveals about the current state and future of music.

Entrepreneur: What findings were you surprised by from your study?
Helmuts Bems: For me, the biggest surprise was just how widespread the use of AI tools already is in the professional music industry. Those on the frontlines who have to meet deadlines for commercial projects have mostly tested AI systems and have found them to be helpful. There were many anecdotes about artists submitting AI-generated songs as their own and labels not being able to detect them. Everybody thinks that it gives them a professional edge, and maybe rightly so. However, the most surprising is that these same people do not want to publicly talk about it. The consensus is that AI is an extremely potent technology and already very, very good at creating content, however, you are somehow a villain if you use it.

What were the biggest disruptions in the music industry in prior decades to AI’s ascent?
Here are two massive disruptions that stand out. In the ’90s, CDs replaced tape recordings as a format. CDs brought more focus on album releases and, interestingly, enabled skipping songs. CDs also brought a lot of economic benefits as they were cheaper to produce but were sold for more than tapes. They also created a recording revolution as digital editing became an inherent part of the production/creative process.

From 2005 to 2020, there was a period of extremely violent industry disruption that ended with the dominance of streaming as the new music consumption standard. This disruption was truly incredible as the industry lost 70% of its CD revenue. Most importantly, streaming has completely changed the rights-based payout structure. Streaming has brought about the age of playlists and singles, replacing the album concept. And it killed the music retail store. But it has brought ever more recording to ever more consumers, inspiring a massive boost in creativity.

How is AI-generated music affecting musicians’ ability to make money?
First, let’s make the distinction of what is meant by musician. There are many stakeholders in making music: Composers/producers, professional musicians, and hobby musicians.

We believe that producers and composers will be the big winners in the AI era. They will be able to deliver more content than ever, without depending on others to deliver their parts. While commercial musicians may see reduced opportunities in areas like background music or advertising, hobbyists and indie artists will be empowered by AI to create without needing expensive gear or technical training. It enables more people to express themselves musically, but it also floods the market, making it harder for individual artists to stand out or make a sustainable income.

In this new landscape, creativity alone isn’t enough — artists must also become curators, strategists, and technologists to thrive. In the long run, I am afraid about the potential for AI to discourage young people to even go into music. If AI gets really good at creating music with a click of a button, it might discourage people to try learning to play an instrument.

We believe pure AI-generated content is the big danger for musicians. The economic shift favors those who adapt — producers, composers, and creators who embrace AI tools to boost their efficiency and output. But it also means that royalties and revenue from streaming and licensing could increasingly go to platforms and AI developers instead of artists.

Where do you see the music industry in one, five, and ten years?
In 1-3 years, we’ll likely still see a hybrid world where AI tools assist creators more than replace them. Vocal and instrument transformation, AI synthesizers, mixing and mastering assistants and AI-assisted ideation will become increasingly common in professional workflows. The conversation around AI rights and licensing will heat up, especially as lawsuits from rights holders against AI companies start influencing legal frameworks.

In five years, assuming a medium disruption scenario, we expect AI-generated content to rival human-generated music in volume and quality. Streaming platforms might increasingly serve algorithmically composed content tailored to individual users in real-time. But we also anticipate a backlash — a demand for human connection, emotional depth, and authenticity. Vinyl could continue its rise, and live shows might become even more experiential and immersive.

By ten years out, real-time AI music generation based on context, like your mood, biometrics, or environment, could be mainstream. To look that far into the future, one must answer deeply psychological questions about human nature and the nature of musical expression. Even though I do believe AI will dominate some areas of the music industry, there will be domains left where humans will still be in charge. I am personally a big fan of live jazz improvisations in a very underground environment. I am convinced that 10 years from now, I will still be able to enjoy these shows, and it will still be humans performing there.

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Business

Behind The Scenes Of The Millionaire Milestones Book

After three years of writing, rewriting, and refining, I’m thrilled to officially celebrate the launch of Millionaire Milestones: Simple Steps To Seven Figures!

This book has been a true labor of love, not just for me, but for my family as well. It’s the product of countless early mornings, late nights, and weekends hunched over the keyboard, while also navigating the beautiful chaos of parenthood and everyday life.

Each chapter represents years of financial experience, both wins and mistakes, distilled into clear, actionable steps that anyone can take to build wealth over time. I wrote this book to help people from all walks of life hit their first $1 million in net worth, without needing a lucky break or a six-figure salary.

Whether you’re just starting out in your career, navigating a midlife financial reset, or thinking about how to best guide your children toward financial independence, this book will serve as your practical, no-nonsense companion.

The Making Of Millionaire Milestones: A Conversation With My Wife

To mark the occasion, my wife and I recorded a special 30-minute podcast episode discussing the behind-the-scenes of creating Millionaire Milestones, what readers can expect, and some of the emotional ups and downs that came with the process.

We talk candidly about what it took to stay committed, how we managed the juggling act as parents and partners, and why we believe this book can make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. You can listen to it below:

If you’re curious about the deeper motivations behind writing the book, check out my earlier post here: Why I Wrote Millionaire Milestones: Easy Steps To Seven Figures

A Heartfelt Thank You For Supporting Millionaire Milestones

Since July 2009, I’ve published three free personal finance articles a week on Financial Samurai—over 2,500 posts and counting. Instead of putting up a paywall or subscription service, I’ve also sent out a free weekly newsletter for over 10 years, filled with insights, strategies, and stories designed to help you build wealth and live more freely.

So if you’ve ever found comfort, courage, laughter, or joy in my writing, I hope you’ll consider picking up a hard copy of Millionaire Milestones. At under $28, it’s a small gesture that helps support this site and everything I’ve built since 2009.

And if you’ve been able to build significant wealth from reading my work over the years, there’s no better way to pay it forward than by giving the gift of financial freedom through this book.

If you enjoy Millionaire Milestones, I’d be incredibly grateful if you could leave a review on Amazon or share it with someone who might benefit. Word of mouth is still the most powerful way to spread practical financial knowledge that can truly change lives.

Here’s to hitting your next financial milestone—whatever it may be!

Millionaire Milestones book by Sam Dogen, a national bestseller

If you order a hard copy or more of Millionaire Milestones before May 10, 2025, you’ll receive an exclusive invite to my private video fireside chat on May 25 at 5:30 PM PST. I’ll be sharing deeper insights into the wealth-building strategies featured in the book and how I’m thinking about investing in today’s uncertain landscape. Simply sign up here after your purchase.

For those interested in a more personalized experience: If you order 55 hard copies (available at a bulk discount), you’ll receive a 1-on-1 video consultation with me, plus a full box of books to gift to friends, family, or colleagues. This package includes a 41% discount off my normal consulting rate. If you’re interested, please fill out the form at the bottom of my consulting page here and I’ll get back to you within 24 hours.

To Your Financial Freedom,

Sam

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Business

Skechers Is Going Private in a $9.42 Billion Footwear Deal

1746469046 Skechers GettyImages 563600481

Shoemaker Skechers announced on Monday that it had agreed to be acquired by investment firm 3G Capital in a $9.4 billion deal that would take the company private after nearly three decades as a public entity. It’s the biggest-ever deal in the footwear industry and was unanimously approved by the Skechers board of directors.

The transaction will close in the third quarter of this year and be funded by a combination of cash from 3G Capital as well as debt financing from JPMorgan Chase Bank, per Bloomberg. 3G Capital has agreed to pay $63 per share, a 30% premium to Skechers’ average stock price.

After the deal closes, Skechers will no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company will still be led by Founder, Chairman, and CEO Robert Greenberg and its current leadership team, including COO David Weinberg.

“With a proven track record, Skechers is entering its next chapter in partnership with the global investment firm 3G Capital,” Greenberg stated in a press release. “Given their remarkable history of facilitating the success of some of the most iconic global consumer businesses, we believe this partnership will support our talented team as they execute their expertise to meet the needs of our consumers and customers while enabling the Company’s long-term growth.”

^{Skechers founders Robert Greenberg (left) and son Michael Greenberg (right) in a Skechers display room. Photo by Carlos Chavez/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images}

Skechers is one of many footwear companies that signed a letter to President Donald Trump last week asking for a reprieve from reciprocal tariffs, which are as high as 145% for imports from China and at a baseline of 10% for all countries.

“As leading U.S. footwear businesses, manufacturers, and retailers, we urge you to exempt footwear from the reciprocal tariffs,” the letter, which was signed by Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, and Puma, reads. It goes on to state that the tariffs could cause “substantial cost increases” and make footwear inventory run low in the U.S.

Skechers is the third-largest footwear company in the U.S. after Nike and Deckers, with a market capitalization of $9.25 billion at the time of writing. The shoemaker was founded in 1992 and went public in 1999 at an initial public offering price of $11 per share.

Skechers’ most recent earnings report, released last month, shows that sales reached a record-high $2.41 billion during the first quarter of the year ending March 31, up 7.1% year-over-year. Wholesale sales increased by 7.8% during the quarter.

The company stated in the report that the strong quarterly sales reflected “strong global demand.” International sales outside the U.S. contributed to 65% of Skechers’ business.

Meanwhile, 3G Capital has made a name for itself with its emphasis on cost-cutting and restructuring since it was founded in 2004. The firm focuses on zero-based budgeting, or on having executives begin at zero for their budget for every new quarter instead of starting with the expenses of the previous quarter.

3G Capital previously agreed to buy a majority stake in blinds and shutters maker Hunter Douglas NV for $7.1 billion in 2021. The firm also orchestrated the 2015 merger between Kraft Foods Group and The H.J. Heinz Company with the help of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

Shares of Skechers were up over 24% at the time of writing.

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Business

OpenAI Says It Will Stay Under Nonprofit Control

1746477826 Sam Altman GettyImages 2198353376

Months after publicly stating its intention to shake up its corporate structure, OpenAI has reversed course and decided that its nonprofit arm will keep controlling its for-profit business.

According to an OpenAI blog post published Monday, the company’s board of directors decided that OpenAI will continue to rely on the oversight and control of its nonprofit division moving forward.

“OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit, and is today overseen and controlled by that nonprofit,” OpenAI board chairman Bret Taylor wrote in the blog post. “Going forward, it will continue to be overseen and controlled by that nonprofit.”

The company’s for-profit LLC, which has lived under the nonprofit since 2019 and will continue doing so, will become a public benefit corporation (PBC). A PBC is a for-profit business that must consider the public good in addition to profit in its decisions. The nonprofit division of OpenAI will control and be the biggest shareholder in the PBC.

“Our mission remains the same,” Taylor noted. OpenAI’s mission is “to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.”

In December, OpenAI publicly indicated in a blog post that it was thinking about making its for-profit section a PBC, but one that had complete control over OpenAI’s operations and business. The non-profit side would not oversee the for-profit, but would instead be in charge of charitable initiatives.

Taylor wrote on Monday that OpenAI chose to reverse course and have the nonprofit retain control over the for-profit business after talking to civic leaders and with the offices of the Attorney General of Delaware and the Attorney General of California.

More than 30 civic leaders, former OpenAI staffers, and Nobel laureates delivered letters to the offices of the attorneys general last month to ask that they stop OpenAI’s effort to break from its non-profit governance.

^{OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg via Getty Images}

OpenAI has recently been embroiled in a legal battle with Elon Musk, who helped co-found the company and left in early 2018 following a failed bid to take it over. Musk has since filed lawsuits against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, accusing them of breaking OpenAI’s founding agreement and working to maximize profits for Microsoft instead of humanity as a whole. Microsoft has invested close to $14 billion in OpenAI.

Musk even led an unsolicited offer to buy OpenAI for $97.4 billion in February, which Altman quickly shot down on X. As of press time, Musk had yet to comment.

OpenAI started as a nonprofit in 2015 and transitioned to a “capped profit” company in 2019, meaning that the company’s profits were limited to a certain amount, with excess profits given to the nonprofit parent organization. The for-profit arm raised $1 billion from Microsoft in 2019, alongside a $100 million initial fundraising round.

In November 2022, OpenAI launched its AI chatbot ChatGPT, which was used by 500 million global weekly users as of March, up from 400 million in February.

OpenAI closed a $40 billion funding round in March, the biggest private tech deal ever, which valued the company at $300 billion.