Drummer Walks: The Band Splits on Songs Written by Artificial Intelligence

As the Drummer Walks: The Band Splits on Songs Written by Artificial Intelligence

The band competes for rhythm, setting the list and who gets the last sentence on the bridge. But one drummer said AI had finally ended his seven-year collaboration with his team.

What happened

In an October 1 post on r/Music, a musician said he left the rock band because two of his band members kept sending him songs made by an AI generator as a starting point for new material, even after he objected. This is a person's unconfirmed statement, but it answers a question many musicians now face: * * What happens when band members disagree about whether AI is part of the writing process? * *

# # Two years of friction

This tension began when members of his band began experimenting with an AI song generator and sent him completed tracks. They also use AI for the band's artwork.

He wasn't interested. For him, finding musical ideas was one of the pleasures of being a musician. His band members saw these tracks as a way to get ideas flowing. He told them he didn't want to be a band that used AI for creative work: stop, or he would leave.

Things calmed down for a moment. They recorded and played several performances that he remembered well. Then the AI songs came back, this time from two band members. When he pushed back, one person replied, “That's how I write songs.“ He left, even though he admitted that the band made music he was proud of.

# # Reddit Engaging

Most commenters sided with him and saw a fundamental mismatch between collaborators: if members wanted to create in radically different ways, someone would end up unhappy. Others said the band should speak honestly to the audience about the role of AI. Some argue that AI that rejects any ideas is too rigid and ask why brainstorming with tools is different from other help.

It's a fair question. Using software to organize ideas is not the same as generating a complete song that everyone can react to. Someone can accept one or reject the other. Notably, the post does not claim that the band released the AI recording or performed it as a human. The focus of the argument is the writing phase.

# # Tools or songwriters?

The drummer's generator “sumo” could be Suno, which converts written prompts into finished tracks. Fans can see a quick path from rough concepts to presentations. However, for those who prefer to build songs from scratch, the full track in the group chat will ask questions ranging from “What should we do?” to “What parts should we keep?”

Whether the result sounds good or not, it won't fix the problem. It's a disagreement about what the purpose of making music is, and it quickly becomes personalized in a band where members share identities.

Trust in Technology

The striking part was the pattern: he set boundaries, the band briefly respected it, and then the conflict came back. The following questions may help before landing on the next demo:

- Is AI only for private brainstorming?

- Are the generated melodies or lyrics forbidden?

- Does everyone have to approve AI-assisted ideas?

- Will the band tell the audience how the music is made?

There is no one set of answers for every group, but letting them go without asking invites resentment.

# # Where the line falls

For decades, musicians have argued about drum machines, tone corrections, and digital recordings. AI sharply asks the same question: * * When did the tool stop helping you express your ideas and start submitting them to you? * *

We only have one side of the story. But the discomfort is easy to understand, and the lesson is clear: have an AI conversation before the generated demo becomes a source of resentment.

Source: “AI In Music”, r/Music, October 1, 2026. uncorroborated [Read the original discussion] (https://www.reddit.com/r/Music/comments/1wutbws/ai_in_music/).