Joe Bonamassa has given his five cents’ worth on the whole AI in music debate, in a very measured, nuanced way.
The guitarist was talking to Blue Rock Review at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads festival in Austin, Texas, when the interviewer brought up the subject. JoBo immediately threw some questions back at his interlocutor: “You’re Blues Rock Review – have you reviewed an Eddie Dalton record? Do you know who Eddie Dalton is? Ever seen an Eddie Dalton show?”
When the interviewer admitted he hadn’t heard of Dalton, Bonamassa said: “But he’s on Billboard’s Blues Chart every single week. Never seen him play live. Never met him.”
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Dalton is, of course, an AI creation. “He’s a legitimate artist in the eyes of some,” Bonamassa said, his voice dripping with disdain.
In his eyes, it’s simple: “The fans will respond to what they respond to,” he said. “When people want to zone out, and they want to put music on in the car, if they like AI music, that’s 100% their right.
“There’s nothing wrong with that. If they want to put on a Marcus King record, if they want to put on an Eric Gales record or whoever, that’s their right.”
“Whatever they particularly enjoy, that’s 100%. This is a supply and demand business. Should those artists be in the same category as living people out there? No. That’s a horrible thing.”
Regarding the use of programs like Suno, Bonamassa had more sympathy, especially for up-and-coming artists who might be tempted to give it a go. “There’s cats calling people out for using Suno to write lyrics. There’s going to be the ones who say ‘I don’t even know what Suno is’. That’s BS.
“Everyone knows what it is and everybody’s seen what it can do. Now, do I hear it in some music? Absolutely. Did I just listen to 200 blues records and heard it a few times? Absolutely.”
“We’re in the entertainment business,” he reflects. “If someone uses Suno to write a lyric, it’s not a high crime or misdemeanour. When you’re on your way up, you’re in 2026 and you’re trying to get noticed… they want to be known, they want to be famous, they want to be rich.
“All of that stuff gets checked out the door when they go ‘if I can use this program to get a leg up and maybe I get a few more people out of my show’. You know that’s happening. We’d be very remiss to just bury our head in the sand, say it’s not, because it is.”
