Shankar Mahadevan on AI in Music Creation: Your Creative Buddy
Artificial Intelligence in music is no longer a passing trend. Grammy-winning composer and singer Shankar Mahadevan describes AI as a creative companion—a buddy who nudges you forward, offers suggestions, and helps expand your artistic vision. But, he stresses, the final say always belongs to you, not the AI.
AI as a Creative Assistant
Mahadevan compares AI to a friend who guides and challenges your creativity. In a recent conversation at the World Audio Video Entertainment Summit 2025, he highlighted how AI opens new avenues in your thinking if used right. “It’s just going to get better and better,” he said. The key is to use AI to enhance your creative process without letting it take over.
AI works like a sketch artist for musicians and creators. It helps draft rough ideas that you can build on. “Every artist needs a basic sketch to start with. AI gives you suggestions, you add your input, and then it suggests again. It’s a back-and-forth that fuels creativity,” Mahadevan explained.
Experimenting with Google’s Music AI Sandbox
Mahadevan teamed up with Google to explore the Music AI Sandbox, a set of experimental tools developed by Google DeepMind alongside YouTube. These tools let musicians reimagine their sound, create new instrumental or vocal parts, and explore fresh directions.
During this collaboration, Google executives spent over 30 hours at Mahadevan’s Mumbai studio working with him and his team to see how AI could aid film soundtrack creation. Using text prompts, Mahadevan generated samples featuring Indian instruments like the dholak and tabla. He then looped these in his digital audio workstation, building vocal melodies and adding more AI-generated instruments with the sandbox. For lyrical ideas, he used Google Labs’ TextFX experiment. This process culminated in the song Rubaroo.
Balancing Excitement and Caution
While AI brings excitement, there’s also a natural hesitation about whether it might replace human creativity. Mahadevan embraces the new tools but sees AI as an evolving process. “It’s a give-and-take relationship. Musicians and artists will shape these products, and they’ll grow alongside us,” he said.
He likens AI’s role to that of an architect’s technology. The architect can visualize a room in 3D, but the creative decisions—what to keep or discard—come from the architect’s mind. Similarly, AI offers options, but the artist remains in control.
What This Means for Creatives
- Use AI as a starting point: Let it sketch rough ideas that you can refine.
- Maintain control: Your creative choices define the final work.
- Explore new possibilities: AI can suggest directions you might not have considered.
- Collaborate with AI tools: Tools like Music AI Sandbox evolve with input from artists, making the relationship dynamic.
If you're interested in integrating AI into your creative workflow, consider exploring specialized courses on AI tools and techniques. Resources like Complete AI Training offer practical guidance tailored for creatives looking to expand their skillset.