Is AI Coming for Us? Or Can We Use It to Shape a New Future?
How Creatives, Sales Teams, and Businesses Can Adapt and Thrive in an AI-Driven World
AI and the Creative Industries: Resistance, Regulation, or Reinvention?
On February 25th, 2025, over a thousand musicians, including Kate Bush, Damon Albarn, and Annie Lennox, released a silent album titled Is This What We Want? in protest against the UK government's proposal to allow AI companies to use copyrighted work without permission. The album, composed of recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, serves as a stark warning: if AI continues to exploit creative content unchecked, the livelihoods of artists could be erased.
The protest raises a broader question that extends beyond music: how should industries respond to the rapid advancement of AI? Resistance? Regulation? Or adaptation?
The Streaming and Sampling Analogy: Lessons for AI
AI’s disruption of music isn’t new. We've seen similar technological upheavals before:
Streaming: When Napster and later Spotify emerged (if you’ve not watched the Netflix Series, The Playlist, on the emergence of Spotify, you should), the music industry fought back, but streaming ultimately became the dominant model. Artists had to adapt to a new revenue structure.
Sampling: The use of pre-recorded music in new songs was initially the Wild West, but it quickly became regulated through licensing agreements and lawsuits, creating a new economic model.
In both cases, resistance was futile. Instead, the industry adapted, leveraging legal and technological solutions to ensure artists were compensated. AI follows the same pattern—initial chaos, followed by regulation and new business models.
Why This Matters Beyond Music: AI’s Impact on Other Industries
Music is just one of many industries facing the AI dilemma. Writers, visual artists, coders, and even sales professionals are seeing AI encroach on their expertise:
Writers fear AI-generated content reducing demand for their work.
Designers worry that AI tools like Midjourney and DALL·E will undercut their value.
Developers see AI writing functional code, raising questions about automation in programming.
Sales teams are beginning to use AI for lead scoring, objection handling, and real-time coaching.
The same forces that disrupted music will impact other knowledge-based professions. The question isn’t if AI will change these industries, but how professionals can position themselves to retain control over the value AI creates.
The Case for AI Partnerships: What Creatives and Businesses Can Do
Some media organizations, including The Guardian, have signed licensing agreements with AI firms. This might be the future for musicians, writers, and other creatives: licensing work to AI companies rather than fighting them outright.
This approach aligns with a simple truth: technology has made creative work a commodity. Whether creatives like it or not, distribution is now easy for tech companies but hard for individuals. The power imbalance means artists need new models of engagement.
Instead of outright resistance, creatives and businesses should advocate for structured compensation models—just as sampling led to licensing fees.
AI companies should be required to cite and compensate original creators when their work is used to train AI models.
Businesses should explore AI augmentation rather than fear AI replacement—using AI tools to enhance efficiency, rather than replace human expertise.
What This Means for My Work and Clients
I work with startups, sales teams, and entrepreneurs navigating AI’s impact on their industries. The conversation around AI in music mirrors the same conversations I have with my clients—AI is here, and it’s changing the landscape.
In sales, AI tools like Counterloop can assist SDRs in handling objections, refining pitches, and improving performance, rather than replacing human connection.
In product development, startups are leveraging AI-powered automation to scale faster, but still need to build differentiated value beyond AI-driven automation.
In content creation, businesses need to rethink their strategies—integrating AI for efficiency but ensuring human creativity and oversight remain central.
So what’s the key point? The choice isn’t AI vs. humans—it’s about who controls the value AI creates. The companies and individuals who strategically integrate AI into their workflow will win. Those who resist without adaptation risk falling behind.
Final Thoughts
If the past teaches us anything, it’s that technological disruption can’t be stopped—but it can be shaped. Musicians, writers, sales professionals, and business leaders need to engage in the AI conversation not just with resistance, but with strategy.
The AI revolution is happening. The question is: will you work with it or fight against it?
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If you are interest in my work, then head over to Orzo Blue. I am a Certified Bubble Developer and work with clients building MVPs and integrating AI/ML into their business.