Apple Music's Zane Lowe on why AI won't fix what music does best
Zane Lowe, Apple Music's global creative director, believes the music industry is chasing a problem that doesn't exist. Speaking ahead of a keynote at Sydney's Vivid Festival, the New Zealand broadcaster pushed back against the assumption that artificial intelligence should streamline music creation.
"No one asked anyone to fix music," Lowe said. "It's really, really fun to make and figure it out."
Lowe oversees how millions of people discover music worldwide. Before landing at Apple in Los Angeles, he spent years hosting one of Britain's most influential radio shows on BBC Radio 1. That platform taught him something fundamental: artists and audiences don't want shortcuts through the creative process.
The human element
Lowe's interviews with Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Kanye West, and Adele have become known for emotional honesty. He credits this to a simple approach-meeting people where they are rather than chasing predetermined outcomes.
For Lowe, the value of music lies in human connection, not efficiency. He attended a Split Enz concert in Sydney with 8,000 strangers and described the experience as irreplaceable. "You can't, no one needs a shortcut through that," he said. "No one needs to fix that, make it better, or make it faster."
He worries some technology leaders misunderstand why people create music in the first place. Learning an instrument, struggling through the creative process, figuring out how to express something-these aren't obstacles to eliminate. They're the work itself.
What AI gets wrong about art
Lowe acknowledges widespread concern about AI in the industry. But his worry centers on a specific misconception: that art needs optimization.
"I'm all for progress," he said. "But for me, as it pertains to art, what I want to get out of it, either making it or listening to it, is very human. I need to feel that connection when I hear the music."
He believes audiences will ultimately choose genuine human expression over artificial alternatives. That choice isn't about nostalgia or resistance to change. It's about why people create and listen in the first place.
Staying grounded
Despite decades interviewing some of the world's most famous musicians, Lowe still identifies as a musician first. He released an acclaimed album with Breaks Co-Op more than 20 years ago and has a new solo album coming this year.
Living in Los Angeles with his wife and two sons, Lowe says his New Zealand identity remains central to who he is. That background shaped how he approaches conversations with artists-with empathy rather than agenda.
"There's definitely some truth in that idea of humility as a strength," he said. "Feet on the ground is a really good place to stand."
For creatives navigating the intersection of AI and creative work, Lowe's perspective offers a counterpoint to efficiency-focused narratives. The best creative work-whether music, writing, or design-often comes from struggle, constraint, and the unpredictable choices that make something human.
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