'AI could bring end to iconic TV themes'

ICONIC TV jingles - such as those from EastEnders to Coronation Street could be a distant memory if songwriters are replaced by cheaper AI, says the man who co-wrote the Strictly Come Dancing theme.

- By Mark Jefferies

It has been the soundtrack to the nation’s Saturday night viewing for the past 20 years.

Former Procol Harum keyboard player Josh Phillips said: “I went on to ChatGBT about a year ago and told it to write a theme song in the style of Strictly Come Dancing and Latin American.

“It came up with something that was kind of weirdly similar. It was like a weird Photoshop something or other, and it was ghastly.

“But what it’s going to be like in five years? It’s learning isn’t it. But it can’t predict the future.

“Any move to AI to create theme songs to further save money will be the death knell for the iconic themes that people love and continue to remember decades after shows end. I think it’s a concern. I really do think it’s a concern.