Avatar Composer Tells Ghent Summit AI Can't Replace Live Musicians

Hundreds of musicians playing with real emotion in a room built the score for 'Avatar: Fire and Ash.' Composer Simon Franglen asked how AI could ever copy that.

Franglen was speaking on an industry panel at WSA Film Music Days, held Oct. 8-10 in Ghent, Belgium, as reported by Variety. The gathering is presented by Film Fest Gent, according to the World Soundtrack Awards, and brings film composers and professionals from around the world to exchange creative ideas. This year's edition put AI and working conditions centre stage.

Franglen discussed his work on 'Avatar: Fire and Ash,' the latest film in James Cameron's science-fiction series. He has previously spoken about inventing instruments for the production, as reported by the BBC. In Ghent, his point was about scale and feel.

Hundreds of players performed together, with emotion, in a shared space. He questioned how a machine could replicate that human exchange.

The European Composer and Songwriter Alliance, known as ECSA, hosted a roundtable at the event and received this year's WSA Industry Award. The alliance represents more than 30,000 composers and songwriters across 57 member organisations. Its president is Helienne Lindvall, a songwriter and advocate for creators' rights.

ECSA is working to shape the European Union's AI Act, the bloc's law setting rules for artificial intelligence. It is asking for three things. First, authorisation before copyrighted music is used to train generative models, which are systems that create new music from existing data. Second, fair payment for creators, and third, clear disclosure of which catalogues and datasets were used.

Lindvall also gave a practical warning about AI music generator Suno. She urged composers to read its terms of service closely. She said uploaded music can be used and exploited commercially without limitation in perpetuity. Read the small print before you upload.

Another thread was how new composers get a start. Franglen pointed to Hans Zimmer, now one of film's best-known composers, getting an early job on 'Going for Gold,' a British game show from the 1980s. Darrell Alexander, who runs composer agency Cool Music, joined that discussion.

So did Martin Phipps, credited on 'The Crown,' and Adiescar Chase, who worked on Netflix's 'Heartstopper.' Chase said she pushed to bring on an assistant for later seasons, opening a paid route for someone else to learn on the job.

For viewers, this means the music behind big screen stories still comes from people in rooms together. The tools are changing fast. The composers in Ghent said the rules and the credits need to keep up.