‘It’s a new tool for creativity’: Dr Dre on use of AI in creating music

WASHINGTON: Dr Dre, the legendary hip-hop producer and performer, sees AI as another tool in the music-tech toolbox akin to synthesisers and asserted that only people “who have trouble creating” are afraid of AI, reported Variety.

Dre, founder of the Aftermath record label and co-founder and CEO of Apple’s Beats, said that he doesn’t see AI “as a threat,” in an interview alongside his longtime business partner Jimmy Iovine.

“I had a discussion with a few people a few days ago. They were against AI and I’m like, ‘OK, you sound like the person that would have been against the drum machine when it came out.’ Or synthesisers, right? It’s a new tool for creativity. Some people are afraid of learning new things,” said Dr Dre as quoted by Variety.

Dre said he’s using AI tech in music “as a tool to see what it would do with what I just did.” Iovine added, “So is Timbaland — another brilliant producer. By the way, there’s a lot of closet AI producers out there.”

Dr. Dre defends AI in a new interview with the New York Times pic.twitter.com/Fj0tO4Qg02

— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) August 23, 2026

According to Variety, Dre, 61, was named to Forbes’ 2026 Billionaires list, joining the publication’s rankings for the first time, with an estimated net worth of $1 billion. In 2014, he and Iovine sold Beats by Dre to Apple in a deal worth more than $3 billion.

Dre in 2023 sold a collection of music income streams and other assets to Shamrock Holdings and Universal Music Group for more than $200 million.

Meanwhile, Apple Music said it will begin labelling songs derived from AI platforms later this year, following Spotify’s decision to label the profiles of artists that appear to be AI-generated as “AI Personas,” reported Variety.

Last month, a coalition including the RIAA, IFPI, the Grammys and SAG-AFTRA united to advocate for a new industry labelling program for AI-produced songs similar to labels flagging explicit content. (ANI)