James Blake is among the popular musicians taking a jab at the music industry, sharing his frustrations with stan culture, streaming companies, and the big labels. He opened up about his feelings in a candid post on his Instagram Stories, encouraging any artist reading his message to keep their heads up and continue making art that resonates with them. The “Retrograde” singer’s post comes one day after SZA also unleashed on the music industry, criticizing the use of “degenerate” AI amongst her fellow artists.
Blake, an English singer-songwriter known for working with big artists such as Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, and Travis Scott, took to his Instagram Stories to share his thoughts on things he’s noticed have changed within the industry.
To begin, Blake said that the public can’t trust music reviews these days because the most popular writers get paid off by music labels. He also said that comment sections can’t be taken seriously either because they’re full of “fake accounts” hoping to create a bandwagon effect.
According to Blake, YouTube view counts are also off because music labels purchase them to make their best artists look better than they are. He added, “Can’t trust streaming numbers because labels pay for bot farms to drive discovery.”
James Blake Appears To Take Aim At AI Music
The Grammy-Award winning artist didn’t stop there. He appeared to take a shot at those in the industry who use and support AI, saying listeners “can’t even trust that a song was made by human beings.”
“If you’re an artist, remember that in 2026, there’s not a single part of the system that isn’t faked. You’re probably doing better than you think,” he finished.
While it’s unclear what prompted his post, a day before, SZA shared a similar message about the use of AI amongst her peers, per The Blast.
In her Instagram Stories post, the “Snooze” singer shared her displeasure with the fact that 238 of her songs had reportedly been used to train AI bots. She then called those who support the “degenerate” product “disgusting” before saying she would never be on board with artificial intelligence.
James Blake Previously Asked For His Production Credit On A Kanye West Song Be Removed
This isn’t the first time that Blake has spoken openly about musicians staying true to the craft. According to Billboard, the 37-year-old recently asked Kanye West’s production team to remove his producer credit from the song “This One Here” from his latest project, “Bully.”
On social media, Blake said that the “spirit” of what he created with West had been removed almost entirely from the track. “My original version is a completely different production in spirit,” he said, before adding that he asked to be removed because he didn’t want to “take credit for other people’s work.”
While likely upsetting, Blake said that the move was not “personal”; it was simply business. “I just hit a point where don’t want to be credited on music where I can’t affect the end result,” he said.
Blake Had Positive Thoughts About AI In 2023
During a 2023 interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Blake expressed excitement about how AI could benefit the industry, explaining that some systems will help musicians create tracks faster.
“I think there’s a lot of exciting things going on with it,” he said before talking about a product called “Synplant.”
“… you can put in any sample and then the synth will recreate that sound on a synth, magically – it just does it. You don’t have to do anything. It’s like, you can just imagine a thing and it just… can be there,” he said, adding that before that, artists had to sit with the synth, learn how to use it, and then create. “There’s going to be a lot of people who [will] make music, who weren’t previously able to in the ways that they want to. It’s really interesting,” he said.
Blake Was Always Concerned About AI Replacing Someone’s Likeness
On the other hand, Blake said there have to be terms and conditions for the use of AI. At the time, his primary concern was ensuring artists were paid fairly. He then said that protecting musicians’ “likeness” was the next hurdle to overcome.
“I just want to take part in making sure that it doesn’t end up creating music in people’s likenesses that are sold without them having shares in it,” he said.
