Music Artificial Intelligence Is Changing The Industry

The Role of Artificial Intelligence In Music

The music industry is in deep, deep trouble.

And that issue is... Artificial Intelligence.

This is what I mean. 👇

See, the leading challenge consumers have with music is too much choice.

Let me give you an example:

Have you ever been in a bookstore looking for something to read... But couldn't pick among the many options?

(We've ALL been there!)

Now imagine that, but turn the bookstore into a music streaming platform.

This is pretty much where the average music consumer is. You want good music, but don't even know where to start!

It's actually worse than this:

In this scenario - the bookstore would be publishing 60'000 new books every day.

Sound insane?

Well, that's how many songs are released by Spotify daily.

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So the question remains:

Which process would you use to sort out songs you may like from the library?

Surely you're not going to listen to them all, no?

I mean... you physically couldn't.

Assuming the average song is 3 minutes long:

That's 180'000 minutes of music...

That's 3000 hours of music...

That's 125 days of music...

Now we have an issue.

We need some sort of system that can rank/sort all these books.

Thankfully, we already have one.

The BEST solution to the music discovery problem is using artifice intelligence.

More specifically, using A.I. for music curation.

Musiio: Artificial Intelligence Music Curation

See, Spotify has a really good music recommendation engine.

That said, it still needs to serve 200 million users.

It can't be accurate all the time.

The system is just too robust to handle true personalization!.

This is where Musiio comes in.

Musiio is a tool that collects songs and breaks them down into individual elements.

The system then synchronizes these elements with other songs in the network to output the right songs for your needs.

Going to the gym?

Here is the BEST playlist for you.

Going to the office?

Here is the most productivity-inducing playlist.

This has real-world effects!

Music has been proven to increase productivity for 90% of employees.

(Source: gethppy.com)

So music is clearly necessary...

However, the task of finding music kills the productivity margin.

This is where Musiio champions in.

For optimal operations, music should be automatically selected.

And the best part?

Musiio analyzes song elements, and breaks them down into "tags."

This is essential for musicians to input a track and understand its DNA structure.

No longer are the days when you need an intense music theory degree to break down a track...

Just grab Musiio and get started!

Here are my favorite use cases of music A.I.

Music Artificial Intelligence For Music Production 

Picture this:

You're a pop singer making a new track.

One day you get an email from your label.

It reads that you've got a new collaboration lined up...

With Justin Beiber.

OMG.

You're excited, but also terrified!!!

Crap, now you need to get the PERFECT track.

This is a once-in-lifetime opportunity, can't afford to waste it.

Now you're wracking your brain working 10 hour days to produce the right melodies but...

Nothing.

Your anxiety blocks away all your creativity.

Crap... So what do you do now?

Well, what you'll need is a magical eleven-letter word:

inspiration.

You basically have two choices:

1. Listen to other musicians for reference
2. Keep painting yourself to make original melodies

Problem:

If you keep listening to other works, you may accidentally re-make it.

And... In the music business, copyright is kind of a big deal.

Okay, okay, fine.

There actually IS a third solution.

And it's called Artificial Intelligence.

In this scenario, all you need is a decent A.I. system to generate melodies for you.

Input a few tracks that you like then BOOM.

Here comes an ORIGINAL composition in a similar style.

Mix/master the output and get on Billboard 100 with Justin Beiber.

This may sound too good to be true...

But it's not.

How A.I. Works in Music Integrations

Look.

I'm not a Harvard lecturer, so I'll skip all the woo-hah.

So I'll present a really dumbed-down version of what artificial intelligence is (from a dummy.)

This is how artificial intelligence works:

Let's say you have a brain.

(Not a real one, psycho.)

This brain is built upon neutrons that fire in sequences whenever it receives inputs from the external world.

Here is a pictorial demonstration:

Now, for the brain to make smart decisions it needs a few criteria.

3 criteria of your brain:

1. Variance in input
2. Synthesis among inputs
3. Decisions made from synthesis 

Getting complex, eh?

Basically, that means that you'll need a crap ton of data, then gain the ability to make "guesses."

It's that simple.

Simple - but not easy.

If you were a data scientist and wanted to make an A.I. system that generates classical music for instance...

You'd need to "train" (basally, feed) the system-relevant input data.

The system is programmed in such a way as to produce the desired outcome.

Now, after "training" over enough time/data then...

Voila.

A fully working A.I. system that gives you classical music.

Sound far-fetched?

WELL, IT ALREADY HAPPENED!

Case Study: AIVA Engine

Listen to this:

This composition was made using the AIVA artificial intelligence engine.

This is where things get funny:

The channel that makes this has nearly 3 million views.

How did they amass so many views?

Music streaming primary metrics:

1. Virality
2. Volume

Here's a snapshot of AIVA's best-performing songs.

Top 8 songs created by AIVA artificial intelligence engine:

Tap any of the above links to listen to the masterpieces!

AIVA's top 8 videos pulled in a combined 1.8 million views.

The remaining 118 videos generated the remaining 1.2 million views.

Here is the numbers breakdown:

• 6% of their videos go viral
• 94% of their other videos average 10'000 views 
• 8 largest videos make up 40% of views

Sounds like petty numbers?

Think again.

If AIVA releases 100 videos a month (3-4 a day) that's 1200 videos.

If 6% off those do over 100k in views and the rest average 10k...

Then here are the numbers:

72 videos = 100k+

1128 videos = 10k+

That's 18.5 MILLION views.

Now let's say Youtube pays $1.00 per 1000 views.

Boom.

$18,000.00 from Youtube alone.

If Spotify, Apple, Deezer, etc. is included...

You can expect 3x this amount in revenue.

Sure, you won't become a millionaire...

But after 5 years of doing this, you're making a comfortable 6-figure salary.

This is the power of A.I. for the common man.

Consumers Won't Fight Artificial Intelligence

Consumers like music because of the harmony and melody.

They don't care if a human-made it or an A.I. system.

Consumers ONLY behave in their best interest.

If the A.I. will make them feel happy inside, then guess what?

Artificial Intelligence will gain market share.

How much market share though?

AIVA is pulling in numbers, but it won't compete with Drake.

But... For Niche audiences, it won't be hard to cannibalize the market.

Music market domination works in two verticals:

1. Tall head

2. Longtail

Here is a visualization:

This model applies to all genres.

The more compartmentalized the music is, the easier it is to win.

Guess Napoleon's strategy of divide and conquer was right, eh?

While A.I. will never reach critical mass appeal, its scale economy and vitality can at least give it grounds.

There WILL be space for A.I. in music.

Producing Music With A.I.

I'm not an idealist - I'm a realist.

The odds of building a music-production business with artificial intelligence are not going to be easy...

You'll need engineers, marketers, operators, etc.

But even so - that's beyond the scope of this blog.

This is the main question I'm tackling: 

Will artificial intelligence be used in the creation of music, or not?

Well... I have bad news for the A.I. haters.

Artificial intelligence is already used in the music production stage.

In fact, it's used a LOT!

Most pitch correction and equalizer tools use A.I. to modulate sounds.

Masterchannel, a leading company in AI mastering music, utilizes reinforcement learning to train its models, resulting in superior sound quality.

With just one click, artists can achieve professional-sounding songs, making the process as easy as enhancing photos with a magic button.

Tens of thousands of artists, from beginners to Grammy Award-winning producers, have already benefited from Masterchannel's services, experiencing the convenience and high-quality results offered by their AI-powered mastering technology.

Most mastering services offered online use A.I. to correct the sound.

Just look at this below. 👇

Copyright Implications of AI in Music

This is what the industry is most fearful of.

Sampling - without compensation.

See, in music, there are master rights and publishing rights.

Master rights are the ownership over the song recording.

Publishing is ownership over the composition.

In most cases, if you use an artist's track for your music then you'll have to pay the price...

But A.I changes the game.

With A.I. you can create original works from sampled material.

Really - unless the composition is EXTREMELY similar to the songs used for training...

There is no way to prove the similarity.

Damn!

Of course, you should still consult with a music lawyer for further information.

But the premise stands.

Licensing runs the industry, and this can hurt the bottom line for many organizations.

What do you think:

Is music artificial intelligence a benefit or detriment to the music industry?

Comment below!