Facebook’s parent company, Meta, has unveiled a new AI tool called AudioCraft, which allows users to generate high-quality and realistic audio and music simply by entering text prompts. The tool is aimed at musicians and sound designers, providing them with inspiration and assisting in the creative process.
The AudioCraft tool consists of three audio models: MusicGen, AudioGen, and EnCodec. MusicGen utilizes licensed music owned by Meta and generates music based on text prompts. AudioGen, on the other hand, has been trained on public sound effects and can create audio using text prompts. The third model, EnCodec, enhances the music generation process by minimizing any unwanted artifacts, resulting in higher-quality output.
Meta has also introduced new pre-trained AudioGen models that specialize in generating environmental sounds, such as dog barks, car honks, footsteps, and wooden floor noises. Additionally, the company is releasing all of the AudioCraft model weights and codes, allowing users to experiment and develop their own models.
Addressing concerns that AI tools like AudioCraft could negatively impact artists’ livelihoods, Meta emphasized that the tool is intended to act as a creative aid, helping musicians and sound designers brainstorm and iterate on their compositions in innovative ways.
Google has also ventured into the AI-generated music realm with its experimental AI model called MusicLM. However, Meta’s AudioCraft seems to offer a more comprehensive and accessible solution, allowing users to generate realistic audio across various genres and environmental settings.
By simplifying the design of generative models for audio and making them available to the public, Meta aims to empower users to push the boundaries of their creativity while leveraging the years of development and expertise Meta has invested in this field.
Overall, AudioCraft represents a significant step forward in AI-powered audio generation, offering a range of tools and models tailored to musicians and sound designers. With its introduction, Meta hopes to inspire artists and provide them with the means to explore new avenues of music creation using AI technology.
