Euronews Culture spoke with the legendary Nile Rodgers at Davos 2024, where we riffed about his nonprofit organisation, AI, and the evolving landscape of the music industry.
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 So we've been working with young people for 20 years.
00:20 And now it's time to get them at the decision-making tables
00:22 because they do have solutions to some
00:24 of the biggest global problems.
00:26 And they need to be heard.
00:27 So for 2024, that's a big effort of ours.
00:32 Working with We Are Family Foundation
00:34 is the turbocharger in my engine.
00:36 To be around these inspirational kids--
00:39 and please forgive me for calling them kids.
00:41 I can't stop it.
00:43 Because we started out, and they were so young.
00:45 Now they're like adults.
00:46 But still, they're still young people.
00:49 And they have the drive and the determination
00:52 and that energy that just comes when you're young.
00:57 They inspire me to wake up every day.
00:59 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:03 That was an incredible moment.
01:08 I never got into this business to win awards.
01:12 I just wanted to get one hit record.
01:14 The fact that I've won so many awards is extraordinary to me.
01:22 What are your thoughts on AI in music?
01:23 Is it an exciting advancement, or is it
01:25 the death of the music industry?
01:27 So I think using AI-generated vocals to copy another person's
01:32 sound is horrible.
01:35 I mean, I sound like me.
01:38 That's how I sound.
01:41 But using AI to artistically express yourself and make
01:48 better music, to me, I think that's fantastic.
01:52 I remember when drum machines and synthesizers first came out.
01:56 But look at how cool the music in the '80s was.
01:59 It was amazing.
02:00 And I remember a lot of people being like, oh, man,
02:02 that's not real music.
02:04 No, it was real music.
02:05 And look, I was one of those people,
02:07 because I was such a purist that when a person played me
02:11 a record that was a drum machine,
02:14 I remember arguing with them, telling them
02:16 how much I didn't like it.
02:18 And this is how they changed my mind.
02:19 They went, hey, do you like that song by Sly and the Family
02:23 Stone, "It's a Family Affair"?
02:26 I said, I love that.
02:28 And they said, well, maestro rhythm box is playing the drums.
02:34 And I said, oh, you're right.
02:35 OK, cool.
02:37 And then Prince said to me, yep, it's a real instrument, Nile.
02:40 It's a real instrument.
02:41 I said, OK, I got it.
02:43 What would your advice be for any new artists trying
02:45 to break into the industry?
02:49 I think that it's the same as it's always been.
02:52 You just have to be passionate.
02:54 You have to be sincere.
02:55 And you have to be determined.
02:58 Don't let no mean no.
03:02 No just means not right now.
03:05 It just means not today.
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