AI and music: will we be slaves to the algorithm?

From Elgar to Adele, and the Beatles or Pink Floyd to Kanye West, London's Abbey Road Studios has hosted a storied list of musical stars since opening in 1931. The man sitting at the keyboard where John Lennon may have finessed A Day in the Life is Siavash Mahdavi, CEO of AI Music, a British tech startup exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence and music. His company is one of two AI firms currently taking part in Abbey Road Red, a startup incubator run by the studios that aims to forge links between new tech companies and the music industry. It's not alone: Los Angeles-based startup accelerator Techstars Music, part-funded by major labels Sony Music and Warner Music Group, included two AI startups in its programme earlier this year: Amper Music and Popgun. This is definitely a burgeoning sector.