Dean Palermo – AI Music & Modern Music Industry Credo
A roadmap for why I do what I do, why AI music is not a threat, and why the right partners should jump in now.
1. The Vision
I’m building a network of partnerships with influencers—especially high-visibility creators who are not yet known as musicians—and producing music with them, for them, and around their personal brands.
Here’s why:
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Influencers create massive amounts of daily content, but 99% just grab random tracks from the Instagram/Facebook music library with no connection to the song’s creator.
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My music is in that library through DistroKid. If we partner, they can use music we own together, turning their daily content into recurring, monetizable plays.
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These people already have the audience. By giving them their own tracks, they expand their brand while building an additional revenue stream.
2. The Influencer Music Model
Imagine an influencer with 500K+ followers posting daily IG stories. Each story gets thousands of views. Now imagine all those stories using our track—driving Spotify, Apple Music, and Facebook plays in the tens or hundreds of thousands.
Multiply that by 5–20 influencers working together, using each other’s tracks strategically.
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It’s a slingshot effect: coordinated bursts of usage can push a song into completely new audience tiers, even in niche genres like smooth jazz.
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It’s brand-aligned: their content looks the same, but now the music is theirs.
3. Why AI Music Is Not the Enemy
Some people still throw around “you’re ruining the music industry” when they hear AI is involved. To them, I say:
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The outrage is the same as when Dylan went electric, or when synths replaced horn sections. Every generation fears new tools.
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AI doesn’t destroy artistry—it expands it. It lets me create music beyond my current playing level, in any genre, in any language, and at a pace that matches today’s digital content reality.
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The listener doesn’t care if the track was 100% live or hybrid AI. They care if it hits.
4. The Workflow
Every release follows a consistent template:
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Final Mastered WAV
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Eye-catching Artwork
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Full Music Video
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Dozens of Vertical Video Clips (for IG/FB Stories, Reels, TikTok) using official track links so plays count
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Merchandise (integrated via Shopify → Spotify)
This is a repeatable machine that can handle AI songs, hybrid AI/live tracks, and fully live recordings.
5. Content Over Perfection
Old music industry thinking: one perfect album every few years.
New reality: the algorithm rewards frequency and volume.
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Release constantly.
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Build niche and genre-specific playlists from your master catalog.
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Drive traffic to those playlists, not just the “new release.”
In my world, I can drop jazz one week, EDM the next, followed by reggae, country, or soul. Each feeds a curated playlist that becomes a content funnel.
6. The Personal Why
Life is short. I’ve lost family recently, and I’m done waiting for “perfect timing.” AI lets me capture ideas and bring them to life faster than I ever dreamed possible.
I’m a father with limited open time for traditional band work. AI gives me the freedom to keep creating, releasing, and building something sustainable—without waiting for the right lineup, the right studio, or the right budget.
7. The Bigger Picture
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Year 1: Go hard. Learn. Release hundreds of tracks.
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Year 2: Build live set lists from the best-performing songs.
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Year 3: Test live shows, scale to larger opportunities.
Meanwhile, partner artists develop not just a catalog, but a performance-ready identity that can land them higher-paying, bigger-stage gigs.
8. The AI Reality Check
Within 5–10 years, AI will be generating real-time music tailored to the audience in the room—complete with dynamically generated lyrics mentioning your favorite drink at Starbucks. That’s where the future is headed.
Complaining about AI in 2025 will seem as silly as complaining about electric guitars in 1965.
9. Momentum Over Advertising
I’m not chasing one-off ad campaigns. I’m building infrastructure:
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Multiple veins of exposure.
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Cross-promotion through partner networks.
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A system that compounds over time, creating momentum instead of fleeting spikes.
10. Final Word
To my fellow musicians and fans: Do both.
Play live. Record real instruments. But don’t be afraid to also use AI tools to expand your reach, your catalog, and your creative freedom.
The tools are here. The audiences are ready. The only wrong move is sitting still.
READ THIS LETTER SUMMARIZED EVEN MORE A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT WAY
Open Letter to the Music World: Why AI Music Isn’t the Enemy
By Dean Palermo
I love music. I’ve been making it since my first Tascam 4-track, and I’ll be making it until my last breath. But here’s the truth: the way music is made, shared, and consumed has changed forever. AI isn’t destroying music — it’s expanding it.
The real danger is clinging to outdated rules from the 1980s, waiting years between releases, and thinking you can survive in an industry that now runs on daily content and algorithms.
Here’s what I’m doing.
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Partnering with influencers who have huge audiences but no original music.
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Producing tracks with them so they can monetize their own daily content.
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Building playlists that mix genres, artists, and cultures — then driving traffic to those playlists, not just single releases.
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Using AI to create songs I could never make alone — in any style, at any speed — without waiting for the “perfect” band lineup or budget.
Here’s why you should care.
AI lets artists:
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Release more often → get rewarded by the algorithms.
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Explore any genre → reach entirely new audiences.
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Collaborate faster → without being locked down by geography, scheduling, or skill limitations.
To the AI haters:
Every generation freaks out over new tools. Dylan going electric. Synths replacing horns. Auto-tune. Now it’s AI.
In a few years, AI will generate live, dynamic music in real time, tailored to the crowd in the room. Complaining about AI today will look laughable in hindsight.
The choice is simple:
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Sit on your songs, worried about “purity.”
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Or adapt, release constantly, and grow your audience while everyone else is still debating.
I choose the second. And if you want to build something real in this new era — I’m here. Let’s talk.