Story by Patience Nyagato
ARTIFICIAL intelligence is rapidly reshaping Zimbabwe’s music landscape, with AI-generated songs attracting large online audiences and challenging traditional notions of creativity, ownership and artistic value.
As AI-composed tracks continue to gain traction on digital platforms, a growing debate has emerged within the creative sector over fairness in airplay, awards, royalties and industry recognition.
Songs such as Ndakainamatira and Mwari Aripo have demonstrated the rising appeal of AI-generated music, drawing significant online engagement and signalling a shift in listener preferences towards technology-driven production.
However, their popularity has also sparked concern among musicians who argue that AI-generated works should not compete on equal footing with human-created music in mainstream industry structures.
“It is very unfair for you to spend two weeks creating a song and then someone just types on a computer and within a minute there is a song, and then we are expected to share airplay royalties. In countries like the United States and South Korea, there are already restrictions around AI-generated music and awards,” Musician and Producer, Mono Mukundu said.
The concerns are shared by some industry promoters, who say AI is already disrupting the local music ecosystem and forcing broadcasters to rethink what belongs on mainstream platforms.
“AI music disruption has been real. Some of the biggest songs in Zimbabwe have been made using AI technology. People still want that human experience, that human feel, and it would be unfortunate to include one hundred percent AI-generated music on charts and playlists,” Arts critic, Plot Mhako said.
AI experts, however, say the industry should adapt, arguing that technology has always transformed the creative process.
“Rather than fighting AI, let us adopt it. We cannot fight technology. It is up to us to work with it and involve it in our creative process,” HLGM Music Producer, Marvin Ncube said.
“If someone uses AI as a tool, the music belongs to the musician. But if you simply prompt AI to create everything, ownership becomes very difficult. I think for a country like Zimbabwe, the biggest focus should not be regulation first, but helping artists and musicians learn to use AI as a tool. It has both advantages and disadvantages, and if we put restrictions before our creatives have had the opportunity to benefit from those advantages, they risk being left behind. What we need is to equip artists to work with AI while gradually putting in place safeguards around issues like consent, copyright and disclosure. Zimbabwe needs to begin putting in place guidelines around disclosure, consent and copyright protection,” AI expert, Dr Dennis Magaya said.
As AI continues to reshape the global music landscape, Zimbabwe’s creatives are being challenged to find a balance between embracing innovation and protecting the artistry, livelihoods and human experiences that have always given music its voice.
