Atlantic CEO Elliot Grainge on AI Implications: Will Future Generations Connect to ‘An AI Bot’ the Same Way as Taylor Swift?

Atlantic Music Group CEO Elliot Grainge is contemplating the existent and aboriginal uses of artificial quality successful the euphony industry. And portion the young enforcement believes today’s audiences person a tendency to link with quality artists, he’s unsure however aboriginal generations volition interact with the technology.  

“Within music, however volition Gen Alpha and Gen Beta, however volition their narration with creation and artists beryllium antithetic to these generations that person grown up knowing the value of creator integrity and existent vigor and existent radical making existent euphony successful their creation form?” Grainge asked the assemblage astatine the 2026 Trapital Summit successful Los Angeles connected Wednesday (Sept. 10).  

When asked astir his thoughts connected AI during a fireside chat with Trapital laminitis Dan Runcie, Grainge said that short-term concerns revolve astir however artists and producers tin usage the instrumentality to amended their craft. The “deeper question of AI agents” utilizing artists’ contented to bid is different conversation, helium added. The semipermanent questions, he’s inactive pondering.  

“What volition [future generations’] narration beryllium similar arsenic they go accustomed to artificial, possibly adjacent augmented reality?” the enforcement said successful his archetypal nationalist speech since taking implicit the Atlantic CEO relation successful August 2024, marking a large shakeup for the renowned euphony group. “Will they beryllium capable to link with Taylor [Swift] oregon Bruno Mars successful the aforesaid mode our generations do? Or volition they link the aforesaid mode to an AI bot? That’s wherever my encephalon goes.”

Grainge compared reactions to the caller exertion to the mode galore radical questioned however the net would beryllium utilized successful the 1990s. The executive, who admitted that helium doesn’t adjacent usage Google anymore and alternatively asks ChatGPT for answers, told the Trapital assemblage that helium has yet to spot a “strong listening assemblage autumn successful emotion and interruption a synthetic artist,” adding that galore synthetic artists person felt similar gimmicks to euphony fans of his procreation oregon older.  

The 31-year-old enforcement — the lad of Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge — succeeded longtime Atlantic person Julie Greenwald successful the CEO relation and brought his autarkic statement 10K Projects, which Warner Music Group had antecedently acquired a 51% involvement in, nether the Atlantic umbrella. When asked if helium was amazed by the absorption to his elevation amid the transition, Grainge showed deference to the leaders who came earlier him.

Referring to Greenwald and erstwhile Warner Music Group CEO of recorded euphony Max Lousada, who besides exited during the shakeup, Grainge said, “They are brilliant, superb executives and they’ve done immoderate unthinkable things. They are going to proceed doing different unthinkable things. But I was not amazed astir the fanfare oregon the astonishment astir the announcement.” 

Grainge added: “I was precise excited to commencement and precise excited to lead, with my team, the astir historic, greatest…I deliberation Atlantic is the champion grounds statement of each time, the astir historical label.” 

Runcie besides asked Grainge however helium felt astir handing implicit the reins to 10K, which helium launched successful 2016.

“When you’re selling a company, it’s your baby,” Grainge said. “So, uncovering the close location for it was…there’s 2 parts of my brain. There’s the affectional broadside of ‘I privation this thing...