Tinie Tempah believes artists need to stop treating artificial intelligence as an existential bogeyman - and start understanding how to live alongside it.
The London rapper, who has become an increasingly vocal advocate for grassroots music venues through the Save Our Scene campaign, argued that while stronger protections for artists are essential, the industry cannot afford to pretend the technology isn’t already reshaping the landscape.
Speaking to The Standard, Tempah, 37, struck a notably pragmatic tone on a subject that has become deeply divisive within the creative industries.
“I think, as an individual artist, it’s super difficult. There’s not much you can do,” he said on the red carpet at the Ivor Novellos, the annual celebration of British and Irish songwriting.
His view is simple, AI has already arrived and much of the battle over existing work has arguably already been lost.
“These AI platforms, essentially large language models, have basically scraped the internet already, so everything that kind of predates today is already in their system, and will be spewed out at us,” he told us.
That is not to say he believes artists should accept the status quo without challenge.
As a board member of the Ivors Academy, Tempah said the organisation has been lobbying Parliament for stronger protections around artists’ lyrics, image rights and ownership of creative work.
But while legislative battles continue, he believes artists would be wise to take a more practical view.
“My genuine advice is kind of this: AI is only going to develop more and more, and I think at the moment you need to utilise it as a tool,” he said. “I think you need to find a way to utilise it that doesn't necessarily compromise your integrity and your credibility as an artist.”
For Tempah, the distinction lies in how the technology is used. AI may be useful in speeding up technical or administrative processes, but he is clear that it should not replace the human essence of music-making.
“Of course, with music, it’s your essence, it’s words that have come from your mind, it’s your thoughts. So, I understand that you wouldn’t want to use AI to kind of meddle with that,” he said.
Still, outright rejection, he suggests, is short-sighted.
“If there are other ways that you can utilise AI, let's say to help mix down your record, or to help speed up the process of your creation, I would say, why not? ... Evolve or be extinct, is what I say,” he continued.
“And so you don't want to be so anti-AI that you know culture shifts and moves on without you, so get to grips with it I would say.”
Though the phrase sounds stark, Tempah’s argument is less alarmist than evolutionary. He remains confident that what audiences fundamentally connect with is human experience — not machine efficiency.
“I think ultimately, as human beings, we’re always going to be interested in other human beings and what’s going on with us as a species,” he said. “People will still want to buy a ticket, and people will still want to show up, and people will still want to sing along to your lyrics.”
For those unsure where the middle ground lies, his advice is not to embrace AI unquestioningly, but to at least understand it.
“I think there’s a lot of people that are so scared of the idea of AI coming to take what they have, that they’ve chose to completely ignore it, and I think that’s one of the worst things you can do,” he said.
He compares it to satellite navigation: a tool that can make the journey quicker, but not one that removes the value of knowing the route yourself.
“You can still do what the black cab drivers do, and use the knowledge, learn all of the streets yourself,” he said. “The choice is yours. I’d say the middle ground is at least learning it.”
The debate over AI’s role in music is becoming less about whether it is coming — and more about who gets protected when it arrives.
The conversation was front and centre at this year’s Ivor Novello Awards, where songwriter Linda Perry urged creatives to embrace, rather than fear, the technology, arguing AI can make “people’s life easier in some way”.
British singer James Blunt echoed the sentiment, pointing to practical uses in music production, such as refining backing vocals. Their remarks contradicted Sir Elton John, who told the audience in his new role as the Ivors Academy's first president: "No matter what kind of music you write, it's yours, you own it... It came from your soul, it means a hell of a lot to you.
"And don't let people take it away from you, especially AI."
The conversation comes just months after the UK Government scrapped controversial plans that would have allowed AI firms to train models on copyrighted work without permission, following fierce backlash from the creative industries.
