Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello (born Declan MacManus, 1954) arrived with 1977’s My Aim Is True and, across nearly fifty years and collaborations with everyone from Burt Bacharach to the Roots, built a reputation as one of the sharpest lyricists in rock — a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer with a famously contrarian streak.

Signature first, shrug second

Costello was among the 200-plus signatories of the Artist Rights Alliance open letter in April 2024, which called on AI developers and platforms to “cease the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists” and warned against the “predatory use of AI to steal professional artists’ voices and likenesses.”

Seven months later, asked by the Telegraph whether he feared AI plagiarizing his style, he gave one of the debate’s funniest answers. While peers like Nick Cave and Sting issued grave warnings, Costello reckoned economics protected him: “Nobody wants to be me anyway, so I don’t see them conceiving of an algorithm that’s specifically trying to track me down. That ain’t gonna happen. There’s no money in it!” His parting shot doubled as a review of the whole enterprise: “I live in a different universe to AI. So they can get on with that whole fantasy — get on your rocket ship and don’t fucking come back!”

The two positions are less contradictory than they look: the letter defends working musicians’ collective rights, while the shrug reflects his personal indifference to being imitated. His hostility is aimed at the industry fantasy of AI music, not fueled by fear of it.