Rephonic
Artwork for Light Box
Artificial Intelligence In Music
Artificial Intelligence
Music Industry
Suno
Ai-Generated Music
Udio
Music Industry Adoption
Music Sampling
Plagiarism
Music
Max Martin
Copyright
Creativity and Identity
Technology and Labor Economics
Consent
Music Workers Alliance
Spotify
Starstruck
Universal Music Group
The Range

Mark Henry Phillips has spent twenty years making music for a living. Then one night he typed a few words into an AI music generator and it did his job better than he ever could. In ten seconds. Basically for free. Light Box is what happened next: a season-long investigation into what AI is doing to music and the people who love it. What happens when a machine can do the thing you thought made you... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes10Founded3 months ago
Number of ListenersCategories
Music CommentaryDocumentaryMusicSociety & Culture

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Artwork for Light Box

Latest Episodes

I found recordings online of the Beatles in 1969, goofing around at rehearsal and drifting in and out of their old songs. They totally sounded like they could be the real “Nagra Tapes” from the Get Back sessions. But... these recordings never happene... more

AI music is supposed to be what ends musicians’ careers. For James Hinton, aka The Range, it might be what saves his. For a decade, he made his music out of strangers’ voices on YouTube, until he couldn’t anymore.

On paper, this is an episode about ... more

For a lot of people, Udio was the AI music app where they finally got to make the songs they’d been hearing in their heads for years. Then one night last fall, Udio settled its lawsuit with Universal Music Group. Downloads were switched off, and the ... more

A year ago, I was driving my daughter home from preschool when Spotify autoplayed a song that cut out mid-note. It was AI, and whoever made it hadn't bothered to fix the ending. So I tracked down the 19-year-old behind it. That was just the start of ... more

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Recent Guests

James Hinton
Electronic musician who records as The Range
The Range
Episode: 7. James and the Copper Wire
Om'Mas Keith
Producer who has worked with Frank Ocean, Erykah Badu, John Legend, and Jay-Z
Episode: 7. James and the Copper Wire
Cherie Hu
Industry analyst and head of Water & Music
Water & Music
Episode: 6. UDIO: A Post-Mortem?
Caitlin Canty
Musician
Independent artist, Down Like Silver
Episode: 5. Slop (Who Is This For?)
Tracy Chan
CEO of Splash, Spotify/Twitch/SoundCloud veteran
Splash
Episode: 5. Slop (Who Is This For?)
Kate Knibbs
Senior Writer at Wired, journalist
Wired
Episode: 5. Slop (Who Is This For?)
Kristin Robinson
Reporter at Billboard, host of On the Record
Billboard
Episode: 5. Slop (Who Is This For?)
Romain Hennequin
Head of Research at Deezer
Deezer
Episode: 5. Slop (Who Is This For?)
Ramy (Tory Hayes creator)
Creator behind Tory Hayes persona, AI music producer
Self-described project creator
Episode: 5. Slop (Who Is This For?)

Host

Mark Henry Phillips
Host and creator of Light Box; host, writer, and producer of Light Box

Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars from 178 ratings
  • An easy listen to a challenging subject

    Fellow musician here! Thanks for doing this.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Kaltril
    United States25 days ago
  • So interesting!

    Tell me more. I’m hooked

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    HelleEgly
    Denmarka month ago
  • Best podcast of 2026

    This discussion of AI in music does a fantastic job at identifying the many goods and harms that AI can be responsible for in the music industry. The reporting is top notch. I can’t wait for new episodes to be released, and I’m recommending this to everyone to help us all process how AI is impacting us as human beings.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    EJPMcG
    United Statesa month ago
  • Awesome

    Super interesting

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    schuschuzinho
    Netherlandsa month ago
  • Clearest picture of AI's impact

    Engaging, informative pod for music ppl and anyone trying to makes sense of how AI is already changing our world

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Varick321
    United Statesa month ago

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

6. UDIO: A Post-Mortem?
Q: Why did Udio take the deal?
Cherie Hu avoids speculating, while Mark notes that Universal's lawsuit potentially exposed Udio to enormous damages and compares the pressure to another AI company's costly settlement over training data.
6. UDIO: A Post-Mortem?
Q: What will Starstruck be?
Cherie Hu says it is built around remixing existing songs by artists who opt in, with modes for covers and creating lyrics around a selected artist's voice. The experience differs from Udio's former open-ended song generation.
7. James and the Copper Wire
Q: When there isn't a real person inside a track, is something lost for the listener?
Hinton says he is unsure what listeners perceive, but believes the human story in a sample can come through. He says he does not expect AI to produce the emotional connection he feels in the story behind Zak's verse on “Copper Wire.”
7. James and the Copper Wire
Q: Are there any moral qualms about these systems being built on ingesting millions and millions and hundreds of millions potentially of copyrighted songs without their permission or without compensation?
Hinton acknowledges that unauthorized training may be a major problem, but says AI has also become an important creative tool for him. He describes its financial implications as disastrous and its creative possibilities as a miracle, and says his own experience of recovering a career affects his perspective.
5. Slop (Who Is This For?)
Q: Why did you put this AI-generated track on Spotify despite the concerns you had about it?
It started as experimentation and curiosity, a way to understand how far AI could go and what would happen if we treated it like a normal track, acknowledging that the business model isn't built to fully prevent it.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About Light Box

What is Light Box about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Listeners are likely drawn to deep-dive conversations about how AI is reshaping music creation, production, and the business around it. Episodes frequently center on practical workflows, ethics, ownership, and the tension between rapid technological advancement and human craft. The show tends to feature a mix of songwriters, producers, technologists, and researchers who speak candidly about real-world implications, including royalties, training data, and the economics of AI-assisted music. A standout trait is its investigative, season-long framing and willingness to engage with controversial questions, including legality and culture, rather than offering pat answers. Potential listeners should find it compelling if they're curious about whe... more

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Which podcasts are similar to Light Box?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Light Box:

1. Paper Trail
2. Song Exploder
3. This American Life
4. Question Everything
5. On the Media

How many episodes of Light Box are there?

Light Box launched 3 months ago and published 10 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Light Box?

Recent guests on Light Box include:

1. James Hinton
2. Om'Mas Keith
3. Cherie Hu
4. Caitlin Canty
5. Tracy Chan
6. Kate Knibbs
7. Kristin Robinson
8. Romain Hennequin

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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