Blue Turtle is one of my favorite music mix channels. Its creator, Dorian Cottereau, creates animations set in his fantasy world, inspired by his music selection.
Music mix channels like Blue Turtle publish videos comprised entirely of music, typically from independent artists, along with artwork and a title to convey a mood.
Some people want inspiration, and others want sadness.
Sometimes, the channel owner creates the art or music or promotes the work of others. Whatever the case, the best channels display skill and mastery in their work. When the art is just right, you feel something, and that first track leads magically into the next.
When the music stops, you are left with a hollow feeling.
Lately, I have found that this hollow feeling is the result of YouTube’s algorithm auto-playing one of the many new music mix channels fueled by AI.
The flood of AI content on YouTube has followed the rise of instructional videos made by AI, teaching people how to create even more content with AI.
For music mixes, the result has been people starting multiple channels or buying existing channels to pump out as much content as their bandwidth allows.
It impacts not only my feed but also the music mix channels I support. YouTube indirectly rewards those who publish a large volume of content and pay to flood the reply section with AI comments to boost engagement metrics.
The music mix channels I follow seem less willing to exchange quality for quantity.
So, where do things go from here?
Previously, I compared the creation of AI content to the self-publishing book industry. I assumed that the glut of AI content would subside as standards rose and the number of people looking for a quick buck would drop.
But I was wrong. AI and self-publishing are not analogous. Before text generation, when you self-published, you had to write, edit, and format the book – or pay someone to do it. Compared to traditional publishing, the barrier to entry was lower, but it still required a meaningful investment. Failure had an impact, and there was an incentive to invest more or get out early.
Today, AI tools have not just lowered the barrier. The barrier is gone.
This means that even in failure because the process can be automated with minimal time and financial investment, it makes more sense to keep creating more and more with the hope that success will eventually come.
There is greatness in empowering human skills through tools. Someone with a music channel can use AI to help them study music theory, make more contacts, communicate better with artists, and continue to build a community and brand.
People are using AI to saturate my content feed with thoughtless music mixes whose only goal is to make a buck, not to inspire me or make me feel. Finding channels that deserve my attention and support is only getting harder.
Check out the Blue Turtle video below if you want to find a YouTube gem.
