Universal Music Group (UMG) has collaborated with tech company SoundLabs to provide vocal tools that enable musicians to sing in other languages they don’t speak. Elsewhere, TikTok has also unveiled a set of AI tools that allow individuals and brands to create multilingual avatars.
Also read: Universal Music Group and Tiktok Reach Deal to Bring Artist Back
These technologies come when the art industry is in a dilemma over the use of AI technology. While other stakeholders in the industry are generally receptive to the technology as a means to enhance performance, others are concerned that generative AI models can replicate artists’ voices and likenesses.
Universal Music Group deal help artists
The AI tools are expected to help artists and creators who are looking at expanding their reach to wider audiences, removing existing language barriers.
The deal will equip artists and producers through SoundLabs’ MicDrop which is a real-time vocal plug-in that enables artists to generate “high-fidelity vocal models using their own voice.”
Commenting on the deal, the music company’s SVP Strategic Technology, Chris Horton, said:
“UMG strives to keep artists at the center of our AI strategy, so that technology is used in service of artistry, rather than the other way round.”
Horton added the initiative allows artists to “push creative boundaries using voice-to-voice AI to sing languages they don’t speak, perform duets with their younger selves, restore imperfect vocal recordings, and more.”
MicDrop is compatible with some digital audio workstations and comes in various formats like AU and VST3.
Artists maintain control
According to Music Business Worldwide, artists will retain complete ownership and creative control over their models, unlike with other AI tools. There have been concerns that that AI may threaten artists, their rights, and their creativity.
Also read: Breaking the Silence: Universal Music Group Artists Muted on TikTok – What You Need to Know
But SoundLabs founder and Grammy-nominated producer and composer known as BT said these new AI tools are meant to complement human creativity and not to replace them.
“Artificial intelligence, when used ethically and trained consensually, has the promethean ability to unlock unimaginable new creative insights, diminish friction in the creative process and democratize creativity for artists, fans, and creators of all stripes.”
BT.
Meanwhile, TikTok’s new tools allow brands and content creators to leverage their own likeness to build multilingual avatars that can be featured on their videos. Brands can also use the multilingual avatars for their spokespersons, enabling them to enjoy a wider reach.
Cryptopolitan reporting by Enacy Mapakame
