The title ChatGPT is Knock Knock Knockin’ on Spotify’s Door reflects the potential of AI technology to not just disrupt but perhaps even challenge the ways music is created, enjoyed and consumed. The article dives deep into the topic by taking a look at the recently released Wind Down album by James Blake and Berlin-based audio tech company Endel. The album was co-created with Endel’s AI-powered technology and is an example of how music AI is used to generate personalized soundscapes that adjust to a listener’s heart rate, temperature or time of day. Clearly, this poses a threat to record labels and streaming platforms who cannot ignore the potential of this technology.
Endel gets around 2 million monthly listeners across all streaming platforms, with 7-10 percent of the entire streaming market made up of functional music (sounds specifically designed to provide soundtracks for tasks). This has been enough to rattle record labels, who are asking platforms like Spotify to crack down on AI services that could scrape artist’s back catalogs to train their machines.
The article also brings up the potentially sinister implications of the AI’s popularity. While the tech may not be up to the “Turing Test of good taste” yet, the question remains how long until an AI like ChatGPT could create something on-par with well-known artists like Taylor Swift, the Weeknd or even the Beatles. The idea of machines creating music is also causing some of the top players in the industry to react with trepidation.
For now, record labels are responding with a mix of fear and self-interest with plans to create a system that favors the artists that everyone is really listening to. Meanwhile, Endel is optimistic about the potential for AI to empower the lower end of the music industry, providing a democratizing way for the new punk generation of songwriters to cut through the noise. But as Ladegaillerie cautioned, a lot more regulation and attention to equality and diversity of the music being produced is needed if the industry is to avoid an unequal, noisy future.
Oleg Stavitsky is the co-founder of Berlin-based audio technology company Endel. Oleg began his journey in the industry by founding Litwin, the first Russian internet radio and digital music store. At Endel, he has been instrumental in creating AI-driven audio tech products that tap into the needs of today’s music industry in striving to create personalized soundscapes.
Endel is an audio-technology company based in Berlin. It offers a sound engine, trained on thousands of different “stems” (individual tracks of drumbeats and melodies) that can create personalized soundscapes for listeners by adjusting to externalities like heart rate, temperature, and time of day. Endel has gained significant traction in the past few years, striking up a partnership with Amazon.com and co-creating the album Wind Down with James Blake – all of which are testament to the company’s potential. It remains to be seen what role the company will play in music AI’s future, but Endel certainly continues to be at the forefront innovation in the industry.
