The New Sound of Music: Larry Ryckman on AI Creation, Human Emotion, and the Evolution of Listening

AI-generated music has entered a new chapter of popular listening, with some AI-created tracks reaching significant chart positions and blending into everyday playlists. The technology has reached a level where many listeners struggle to distinguish between music created through artificial intelligence and music created through traditional recording processes. A survey of 9,000 listeners across eight countries found that 97% could not correctly identify AI-generated songs during testing, highlighting how sophisticated these systems have become.

For Larry Ryckman, President and CEO of AfterMaster Audio Labs, this moment represents both a remarkable technological achievement and a meaningful conversation about the future of musical connection. Ryckman believes AI-generated music demonstrates impressive engineering and creative capability. At the same time, he raises a deeper question. “AI can create something that sounds incredible, but the question becomes whether people recognize the difference between something generated and something lived,” Ryckman says.

His perspective comes from decades spent inside the recording world. Ryckman built studios in Hollywood where generations of artists created major recordings and developed audio technologies focused on advancing the listening experience. His career includes founding and leading companies in music technology, engineering audio innovations, and working across production and mastering.

That background gives him a unique lens on the relationship between technology and creativity. AfterMaster Audio Labs reflects this connection between innovation and artistry, focusing on how sound is captured, refined, and experienced by listeners.

Ryckman has also explored AI music himself. After entering a prompt asking an AI system to create a song inspired by love, he found the result technically impressive and emotionally effective. The experience reinforced a key point in his view that AI music represents a major creative advancement, yet there may be elements of human expression that technology continues to explore. He says, “The question becomes: What happens inside a recording studio that cannot be recreated through a prompt?”

For decades, Ryckman watched artists enter studios and turn personal experiences into performances. A vocalist’s breathing pattern, a musician’s timing, a slight shift in delivery, or an unexpected emotional response during a take can become part of the final recording. Those details are not imperfections to remove; they are pieces of the artist’s experience captured in sound. “Music has always been about the moments that happen when people bring their lives into a room,” Ryckman remarks.

AI systems can reproduce musical structures, styles, and production qualities with remarkable precision. However, human recordings often contain spontaneous elements created through collaboration, personal interpretation, and real-time interaction between artists and producers.

This conversation also connects to a larger transformation in the music business. Ryckman views the shift toward single-track consumption as a major change that began before AI became widely available. The move from complete album experiences toward individual songs changed how audiences discover and engage with music.

Albums once represented carefully constructed journeys, with artists considering sequencing, themes, and the emotional progression of an entire project. Digital listening expanded access and personalization, creating a culture where individual tracks often receive more attention than full collections. AI has accelerated this environment by increasing the amount of music created and released.

In fact, AI-generated tracks now represent a significant portion of uploads on some music platforms, while listeners continue adapting to new forms of creation. The creative process is evolving, with artists experimenting with AI tools for ideas, production support, and new workflows.

“For artists, this creates a new environment where speed, experimentation, and adaptability have become more important. At the same time, I believe the value of human performance remains significant because listeners often connect with the story behind a voice, instrument, or performance,” Ryckman states.

AI technology will continue to improve. Systems may become increasingly capable of reproducing emotional detail and artistic nuance. The question Ryckman raises is whether audiences will continue seeking the feeling of knowing that a person experienced something real before that emotion reached the microphone.

Live music offers one example of that connection. A concert creates an exchange between performer and audience that exists in a specific moment. Technology can enhance how music is created and experienced, yet the shared experience of human performance remains a powerful part of culture.

Ryckman’s perspective is not a rejection of AI. He recognizes the creativity, innovation, and possibilities the technology introduces. His message is about awareness. As music enters a new era, listeners can continue exploring new forms of creation while remembering the unique qualities that come from human expression.

“The future of music may include both AI-generated works and traditionally recorded performances,” Ryckman remarks. “The ongoing conversation is how audiences value each experience, and how the industry continues to preserve the emotional connection that has defined music for generations.”