Vlad Bunoan

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AI Band

Anna Cerezo

ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- “Hawak Mo Ang Beat” didn’t just spark a viral dance trend — it ignited a bigger question.Was it made with artificial intelligence? Creator DJ Mogo has firmly denied it, yet the internet remains divided, some still unconvinced.As listeners continue to debate, however, Sherwin Pelayo, the executive director of the Analytics &amp; Artificial Intelligence Association of the Philippines, said the focus of the discussions now should not be whether this track used AI -- it’s that we’ve reached a point where we can’t easily tell anymore. And that “shift changes everything for artists, audiences, and the future of the creative industry.”“&#x27;Yong goal natin is really not to stop AI… Nandiyan na &#x27;yan. But the goal is to make sure that itong mga innovative technologies or innovation moves forward. But at the same time, our artists, our music artists should still be respected, protected and actually rewarded,” Pelayo said in an interview.“There are calls right now na kailangan maging transparent ang mga developers on what data, in this case what music they actually use to train &#x27;yung models niya,” he added.<div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/celebrities/2026/3/29/kapamilya-stars-join-viral-hawak-mo-ang-beat-trend-1924">READ: Kapamilya stars join viral ‘Hawak Mo ang Beat’ trend </a></div>Pelayo said AI has become increasingly adept at creating music, and will likely only continue to improve because it possibly learned from thousands, even millions, of artists.But that progress, he stressed, should not come at the expense of creators’ rights. Artists should have the right to know if their work is being used — and to decide whether to allow it.“So, it&#x27;s like di ba, there are degree programs on music in higher education. &#x27;Yung mga subjects nila, pinag-aaralan nila — all the way to classical music to mga more recent ones.  Talagang pinag-aaralan &#x27;yan. It&#x27;s the same when you train mga AI. &#x27;&#x27;Yung actual music talaga yung pinapasok mo to train your AI models,” he explained.Clear safeguards, he believes, should urgently be put in place requiring developers to secure artists’ consent before using their work to train AI models — and to provide fair compensation in return.“If gagamitin mo yung AI to earn, di ba, for commercial use, mas lalo mo dapat i-recognize at i-compensate &#x27;yung mga artists whose work ginamit mo talaga pang train ng AI. The [artists] actually contributed to the value that AI can now create,” he said.“Ang challenge ngayon, however, is that AI does not really learn from just one artist. It learns from thousands or millions. So ngayon ang magiging question, so how do you fairly distribute &#x27;yung value na na-create ng AI? Kaya kailangan din &#x27;yung intellectual property, &#x27;yung thinking natin about intellectual property should also evolve,” he added.<div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/technology/2025/7/29/ai-bands-signal-new-era-for-music-business-1501">READ: AI bands signal new era for music business</a></div>Pelayo said stakeholders, particularly those in intellectual property, now face a growing challenge: ensuring transparency as AI reshapes how creative work is used and valued.“So lahat ng pop music, kinuha niya lahat dito, lahat ng R&amp;B, lahat ng jazz. Hindi lang isang creator &#x27;yan, hindi lang isang kanta &#x27;yan. So paano mo ngayon i-distribute &#x27;yung value? So actually &#x27;yung mga nasa Intellectual Property Office natin, kailangan nila talagang mag-isip ngayon ng mga new mechanisms. Like paano ngayon &#x27;yung licensing systems,” he said.<div> </div><div>OPPORTUNITIES, DISRUPTION</div>Pelayo said AI is already reshaping how music is created and consumed and will possibly bring both opportunities and disruption.Pelayo believes AI lowers “barriers to entry“ and makes creativity more accessible, opening space for highly personalized and independent music.“More and more people can now actually create music even without formal training. So it kind of democratizes creativity. So kung halimbawa, gusto kong magkaroon ng very unique song na gagamitin ko sa wedding ko. So people would usually ask or hire composers, can you create an original song for my wedding march? Pwedeng ganyan. So I guess that&#x27;s something also that the music industry would have to address,” he said.At the same time, AI is accelerating production — a shift he believes will make the industry more competitive, where speed and volume are no longer advantages but expectations.“Another impact is it will speed up production. So now music can be created faster, at scale. So mabilisan, maramihan, which makes the industry more competitive,” he said.<div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2026/3/30/life-with-ai-causing-human-brain-fry-1001">READ: Life with AI causing human brain &#x27;fry&#x27; </a></div>But while AI can expand access and creativity, Pelayo acknowledges it can also possibly displace.“Nakikita na naman natin &#x27;yan sa ibang sectors and industry. Papalitan na niya talaga &#x27;yung mga roles especially &#x27;yung repetitive or technical ones. Like for example, &#x27;yung basic beat making or &#x27;yung stock music production, &#x27;yung ginagamit natin to imitate sounds sa mga movies,” he admitted. “Or even &#x27;yung simple scoring ng mga TV shows or mga movies. But it will not replace naman talaga artists who can bring &#x27;yung authentic self nila. &#x27;Yung identity, originality and emotional questions.”As production becomes easier, the value of music may begin moving, from production quality toward authenticity.“Before, a lot of value was really in production quality. Even &#x27;yung pag-create ngayon ng mga music videos. Lahat ng value doon na naka-focus. Now with AI, it becomes easier to achieve. So the value now moves from production quality to how authentic is that song,” he said.“Paano &#x27;yung storytelling and &#x27;yung connection na na-establish ngayon ng artist sa kanyang audience. And those three, &#x27;yung authenticity, storytelling, connection, at least for now, hindi pa nagagawa talaga ng AI &#x27;yan,” he added.“So I guess the music industry should really hone in on that and really elevate siguro. I&#x27;m not here to tell them what to do but I guess elevate na &#x27;yung level of authenticity, storytelling and connection with the audience.<div> </div><div>NO REPLACING TALENT</div>For Pelayo, the music industry is bracing for change -- but not a collapse. Because “while AI can replace tasks, it cannot replace talent.”“The narrative ngayon, it’s less about humans versus AI. It’s more about humans with AI versus humans without AI. Kasi, artists who know how to use AI will have an advantage over those who do not,” he said.“And that changes everything — how we create, how we protect our artists, and how we define authenticity. The goal is really not to stop AI.”<div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/music/2026/2/24/songwriter-lolito-go-warns-against-replacing-musicians-with-ai-urges-balance-1423">READ: Songwriter Lolito Go warns against replacing musicians with AI, urges balance </a></div>However, as artificial intelligence continues to reshape the digital landscape, public opinion remains divided.For Pelayo, the future of AI will ultimately depend not just on what the technology can do, but on how it is built and used — and whether the public can still trust what they see and hear.“Which is kind of sad kasi madami talagang benefits ang AI — if only those developing and using it do so ethically and responsibly. So ito, kailangan tulong-tulong na talaga tayo on this,” he noted.In an era where reality can be replicated online, trust may become one of the most valuable currencies — one that must now be earned.“Some government agencies are already putting pressure on social media platforms to disclose whether content is AI-generated. But those are still AI tools, so mahirap pa ring mahuli lahat. What we’ve been proposing is to make it the responsibility of the content creator to disclose whether something is AI-generated. Kasi if wala kang malintent, bakit ka aayaw na sabihin?” Pelayo said.

An expert discusses the impact of artificial intelligence to the music industry.

An expert discusses the impact of artificial intelligence to the music industry.

Expert weighs in on AI's possible impact on music industry

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Expert weighs in on AI's possible impact on music industry

Anna Cerezo,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 01, 2026 10:33 PM PHT

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Updated April 02, 2026 01:02 AM PHT

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