While most AI tools are still in the early stages of development and have not yet reached mainstream popularity, AI is starting to gain attention in a variety of applications – from film scores and video game soundtracks to commercials. Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing music production, composition, writing, and distribution– enabling artists to not only have greater command over their sound but how they distribute music as well.
A variety of AI-based technologies have already emerged that could make a tremendous impact on the music industry, providing musicians, producers, and users with an array of tools to craft their music. While there are still fears about machines taking over, with the right use of automation, many are optimistic about what collaboration between humans and machines can produce.
Artificial intelligence music is already being used in a variety of ways, including:
- Film soundtracks: AI music composers such as AIVA and Amper Music have been used to create original music for film soundtracks.
- Video game soundtracks: AI music composers such as Melodrive and Jukedeck have been used to create original music for video games.
- Commercials: Amper Music and Jukedeck have been used to create original music for commercials and other advertising media.
- Virtual reality experiences: Melodrive has been used to create original music for virtual reality experiences.
- Mobile apps: Amper Music has been used to create original music for mobile apps and other interactive media.
AI is rapidly transforming the way we listen to and create music, enabling us to quickly generate audio that precisely meets any desired mood or vibe. Rather than spending time and resources on hiring a composer or licensing existing music, users can input the desired parameters into an AI music composer and generate custom music on demand. AI is also automating the process of music production.
AI is starting to create songs that are indistinguishable from those created by human musicians. AI music composers, such as AIVA, Amper Music, and JukeDeck (acquired by Tiktok in 2019) all provide users with the ability to compose new music with AI by pairing genres and moods to craft music through the use of reference tracks.
AIVA (Artificial Intelligence Virtual Artist) is an AI music composer that creates original music in a variety of genres, including classical, electronic, and rock. Founded in 2016, the company’s mission is to ‘create music that moves people’s hearts and minds, using artificial intelligence as the conductor.’ AIVA’s AI technology allows it to create original music by learning from a database of existing compositions and compositions created by human composers.
The company has collaborated with several artists and has composed music for films, commercials, and other media. One of the key benefits of AIVA’s technology is that it allows users to quickly and easily generate original music that fits the desired criteria. Rather than spending time and resources on hiring a composer or licensing existing music, users can simply input the desired parameters into AIVA and generate custom music on demand.
Amper Music is an artificial intelligence (AI) platform that allows users to create original music by inputting specific parameters, such as genre, mood, and length. The platform has a library of pre-recorded sounds and melodies that it uses to create the music, and it can adapt the music in real time based on the actions of the user.
Amper was founded in 2014 with the mission to enable anyone to express themselves creatively through music regardless of their background or expertise. Using the Amper Score™ platform, content teams can create and edit music to accompany videos, podcasts, and many other types of content.
Score’s workflow allows users to upload videos, spot key moments in project timelines, and render original compositions in real time in dozens of different musical styles. Music created using Amper Score™ is royalty-free and comes with a global, perpetual license for subscribers when synced to content.
AI is also changing the way music is distributed and consumed. AI can be used to create customized playlists and to recommend new songs and artists. It can also be used to generate lyrics and melodies. AI is also changing the way musicians make a living. Musicians can now use AI to produce and distribute their music. They can also use AI to create customized marketing campaigns and to connect with fans online.
Spotify’s AI models recommend audio content to users. Spotify’s AI powers music and podcast recommendations are designed to create long-term user satisfaction. In order to provide the best service and experience possible, Spotify harnesses user data from playlist generation all the way down to how one interacts with their platform.
This allows them to accurately anticipate what each listener would like next based on their likes, dislikes, history of listening habits, and more. The capacity to personalize at a large scale is unfeasible without AI, Spotify as we know it wouldn’t exist if artificial intelligence wasn’t present. Spotify is the very definition of an “AI Native” business—a business that unlocks unprecedented value in a market by using AI.
Each individual user experiences a product tailored specifically to their needs and wants. Everyday, the company reports that a staggering half a trillion events are processed to continuously develop and refine their machine learning models. The more data these models gather, the better they are at making higher-quality recommendations all done at the individual user level. Spotify isn’t a single product; it’s 433 million different products in-one. catered for every individual user. Since 2013 Spotify has acquired several AI companies, or companies related to AI to help predict and curate the listening experience for its users.
The AI Music App ‘AiMi’ produces Dance music based on two inputs by the user — Energy Level and Like/Dislike. Creating one continuous track that changes based on the user’s inputs. Aimi’s mobile app offers generic experiences categorized by mood, in addition to a paid-for tier of artist-branded experiences generated from material provided by some pretty respectable producers and DJs, working across various genres and scenes. Artists can use Aimi to create their own experiences, share individual musical ideas with collaborators across compositions and monetize their stems using smart contracts.
Finally, AI is also used in music to create realistic-sounding instruments. This can be done by using software that models the acoustic properties of different instruments. Not only is AI used to create realistic-sounding instruments but it’s also being used to recreate the human voice.
China’s Tencent Music Entertainment announced in November of 2022 that a track it released featuring vocals by AI that mimics the human voice has surpassed 100 million streams. The track, titled ‘Today’ (English translation) “has become the first song by an AI singer to be streamed over 100 million times across the internet”, TME’s Cussion Pang. Powered by the patented voice synthesis technology called the Lingyin Engine. Originally designed to synthesize the voices of legendary Chinese artists such as Teresa Teng and Anita Mui. Tencent created an AI singer lineup with the voices of current trending stars. Having launched over 1,000 songs with AI synthetic voices by the end of 2022.
AI has quickly changed many aspects of the music industry, making the creation of music more accessible. Moreover, there’s no doubt that AI technologies will only continue to grow in importance as they create new opportunities for both producers and musicians. With a blend of inspiration and automation, humans and machines can unlock unprecedented levels of creativity.
