CULTURE DESK

A LEADING MANAGER of pop music acts says that the days of artists, bands or solo singers, having to climb the ladder of fame before either disintegrating in a storm of recrimination and substance abuse only to re-emerge later on the nostalgia circuit, may well be over.

Bert Cut, who has been involved in the industry since the 1950s, and is best known for his management of Dubious Suede, who all died on stage without it being noticed, says that Artificial Intelligence means an act can pass through the initial phase without ever existing in any real sense, and then if the artists gain a following, the genuine article, complete with wild backstory can be inserted into the more lucrative nostalgia gig carousel.

“Nostalgia’s where it’s at. The fans are richer, better behaved and they demand the old stuff over and over and over again. It’s like taking candy from a baby,” Mr Cut insists. “The initial rise to fame has become so costly that it’s hardly worth investing it now. Why do you think all these old Sixties, Seventies and Eighties acts are still filling venues? So if we can use AI to created an act and have it destroy itself a year or two later, we can start it on the nostalgia circuit much sooner.”