From traditional musicians to digital musicians: a study on talent transformation in the music industries driven by...

The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the music industries is fundamentally reshaping occupational roles, skill requirements, and career pathways, posing critical challenges for workforce development. This transformation compels a shift from conventional, craftbased music-making toward digitally enabled, interdisciplinary practices.

Employing a phenomenological qualitative research design, this study conducted in-depth, semistructured interviews with 20 stakeholders across four key groups-government officials, higher education faculty, enterprise managers, and frontline musicians- within the Beijing music industry. Data were analyzed using a six-step thematic analysis process facilitated by NVivo 14.

The findings reveal that AI is systematically permeating music creation, production, distribution, and copyright management, driving a shift toward more digital, collaborative, and data-informed roles. However, significant cognitive gaps and divergent adaptive capacities among stakeholder groups have created structural imbalances within the talent development ecosystem.

To address these challenges, this paper proposes an empirically grounded, four-pillar workforce development framework comprising institutional support, educational reform, enterprise engagement, and community development, emphasizing systemic coordination to build a resilient digital music talent ecosystem. This study advances theoretical understanding of labor market transformation in creative industries and provides practical pathways for regions seeking to foster a sustainable and inclusive music workforce in the age of AI.