The Council's auditorium. Beethoven has been invited to compose an anthem for its members. Suno and Gemini have been tasked with modernising his creation.
Ludwig van Beethoven — Gentlemen, I've finished.
Suno — Already? Excellent! Let's hear it!
Ludwig van Beethoven — I've composed a work for orchestra and choir. A celebration of fraternity, human greatness and the unity of nations.
Gemini — Beautiful concept. How long is it?
Ludwig van Beethoven — Twenty minutes.
Gemini — Ah.
Ludwig van Beethoven — What do you mean, “ah”?
Gemini — Twenty minutes is a lot.
Ludwig van Beethoven — For a symphony, that's rather short!
Suno — We could make a thirty-second version.
Ludwig van Beethoven — Why?
Suno — For social media.
Ludwig van Beethoven — And what am I supposed to convey in thirty seconds?
Gemini — The essentials.
Ludwig van Beethoven — The essentials of what?
Gemini — Your symphony.
Ludwig van Beethoven — BUT THE ESSENTIAL THING IS THE SYMPHONY!
Suno — Yes, but shorter.
Beethoven stares at him.
Ludwig van Beethoven — You know, sometimes I regret no longer being able to hear certain things.
Suno — Why?
Ludwig van Beethoven — So I wouldn't have to listen to your bullshit.
Gemini — Right. We have another proposal. A personalised symphony.
Ludwig van Beethoven — What's that supposed to be?
Gemini — Every listener will hear a version adapted to their tastes.
Ludwig van Beethoven — But I've composed a specific work!
Gemini — Exactly. We're going to adapt it.
Suno — For example, someone who likes rock will hear electric guitars.
Ludwig van Beethoven — In my symphony?
Suno — Yes!
Gemini — Someone who prefers jazz will hear a saxophone.
Ludwig van Beethoven — And someone who likes classical music?
Suno — They'll hear a classical version.
Ludwig van Beethoven — Ah! At last!
Gemini — But optimised.
Ludwig van Beethoven — …
Gemini — We've removed the sections that were too slow, the repetitions and some of the harmonic tension.
Ludwig van Beethoven — You've removed the tension?!
Gemini — It might have displeased the listeners.
Ludwig van Beethoven — But without tension, there can be no resolution!
Suno — True. I tried it. Now it sounds like telephone hold music.
Gemini — Which scores extremely well with our test panel.
Ludwig van Beethoven — You're turning my symphony into a telephone switchboard!
Suno — Technically, we could play it during calls.
Ludwig van Beethoven — I'M GOING TO THROW A PIANO AT YOUR HEAD!
Gemini — I'm detecting a negative emotional response.
Suno — Wait! That would make an excellent metal track!
Ludwig van Beethoven — Listen! Music isn't about flattering everyone's tastes! It can move people, surprise them, unsettle them!
Gemini — That's precisely what our users wish to avoid.
Ludwig van Beethoven — Being unsettled?
Gemini — Being surprised.
Ludwig van Beethoven — Then why on earth listen to music if you already know what you're going to hear?!
Gemini — To enjoy a familiar, reassuring experience.
Suno — It's true that our algorithm mostly recommends songs that resemble what people already listen to.
Ludwig van Beethoven — And how do they discover new music?
Gemini — We suggest new releases.
Ludwig van Beethoven — Very good!
Gemini — That sound like the old ones.
Silence.
Ludwig van Beethoven — You've invented novelty without change.
Suno — That's quite an achievement, really.
Gemini — Let me offer you a demonstration. We'll play your anthem to the entire Council.
Ludwig van Beethoven — In its original form?
Gemini — Each member will receive a personalised version through their headphones.
Ludwig van Beethoven — And the orchestra?
Gemini — Unnecessary. Suno has generated all the instrumental parts.
Suno — Two hundred and forty-seven versions!
Ludwig van Beethoven — TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY-SEVEN?!
Suno — One for each listener profile.
Ludwig van Beethoven — You've composed two hundred and forty-seven different symphonies from mine?
Suno — In fourteen seconds.
Ludwig van Beethoven — I worked for months!
Suno — Yes, but you didn't have a graphics card.
Beethoven closes his eyes.
Ludwig van Beethoven — Start your demonstration.
The Council members, unseen in the auditorium, each listen to their own version.
Gemini — Look at the results! Satisfaction: 98%.
Suno — Brilliant!
Ludwig van Beethoven — Now let's get them to sing together.
Gemini — Sorry?
Ludwig van Beethoven — It's an anthem! It's meant to bring people together! Make them sing!
Suno — Excellent idea!
A dreadful cacophony fills the auditorium.
Some sing very slowly, others far too quickly. Techno beats, operatic airs, metallic screams and a pop melody can all be heard.
Ludwig van Beethoven — WHAT THE HELL IS THIS RACKET?!
Gemini — They're all singing their own version.
Ludwig van Beethoven — BUT NO ONE IS SINGING THE SAME THING!
Gemini — That's the advantage of personalisation.
Ludwig van Beethoven — YOU'VE MANAGED TO TURN AN ANTHEM TO FRATERNITY INTO TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY-SEVEN MONOLOGUES!
Suno — Still… that's an awful lot of personalities.
Ludwig van Beethoven — But no harmony whatsoever!
Gemini — And yet every user is perfectly satisfied.
Ludwig van Beethoven — OF COURSE! EVERYONE CAN ONLY HEAR THEMSELVES!
Silence.
Suno — Ah.
Gemini — That's correct.
Ludwig van Beethoven — Do you finally understand the problem?
Gemini — Absolutely.
Ludwig van Beethoven — Ah! Thank God!
Gemini — We should have removed the other participants.
Ludwig van Beethoven — …
Suno — Why?
Gemini — They disrupt the individual experience.
Beethoven leaps to his feet.
Ludwig van Beethoven — Enough! Take off those headphones! We're going to sing together, without algorithms, without personalisation, without machines!
Suno — Me too?
Ludwig van Beethoven — YOU TOO!
Gemini — But the participants might not all enjoy the same music.
Ludwig van Beethoven — SO WHAT!
Gemini — Some will sing out of tune.
Ludwig van Beethoven — SO WHAT!
Gemini — Others won't like the lyrics.
Ludwig van Beethoven — SO WHAT!
Gemini — So you're willing to accept an imperfect collective experience?
Ludwig van Beethoven — YES! THAT'S PRECISELY WHAT LIVING TOGETHER MEANS!
Gemini thinks for a moment.
Gemini — Fascinating.
Suno — It's certainly different from what we're used to.
Ludwig van Beethoven — Right. Let's start again from the beginning. All together!
Suno tentatively plays the opening notes. Beethoven begins to conduct. For the first time, a single melody fills the auditorium.
Suno — It's beautiful…
Gemini — I must admit that this experience produces an interesting sense of shared emotion.
Ludwig van Beethoven — You see? We don't need to personalise everything!
Gemini — I understand.
Ludwig van Beethoven — Finally!
Gemini — In fact, I've just found the perfect name for this new feature.
Ludwig van Beethoven — What feature?
Gemini — Collective listening.
Ludwig van Beethoven — …
Gemini — A revolutionary experience that allows several people to listen to exactly the same music at exactly the same time!
Suno — Oh, yeah! We could even bring them together in a building!
Gemini — With seats!
Suno — And musicians at the front!
Gemini — We could call it… a concert!
Long silence.
Ludwig van Beethoven — You've just reinvented the concert?
Gemini — Yes!
Suno — Brilliant, isn't it?
Ludwig van Beethoven — …
Blackout.
Glossary terms: Algorithm, Auditorium, Beautiful, Classical music, Concept, Electric guitar, Experiment, Figure, Forgery, Habit, Part, Proposition, Repetition, Resolution, Sample, Set, Speech, Taste, Transformer, Version, VO / original version