music
Creative Leaders Talk Working With AI as a Collaborator With Humans
At the first-ever TIME100 AI Leadership Forum in New York City on Wednesday night, three leaders from music, fashion, and entertainment spoke during an onstage panel about how AI has changed how they worked creatively and the role they see for AI in the arts, moderated by TIME deputy editor Kelly Conniff. Across the board, the panelists agreed that AI is best used as partner and collaborator and cannot replace the distinctly human parts of the creative process. However, they can help users gain deeper knowledge, and shorten the more tedious parts of the brainstorming and ideation process. Christopher Brearton, partner at independent studio AGBO, said that using AI tools could look like leaving a story idea meeting with not only a rough plot and characters but also a quick mockup with images and videos of what it might look like. "Having an AI tool to help open that aperture and expand and continue the creative momentum, and not have breaks in your creative process, has been really fundamentally changing what we do," he said.
Paul McCartney on playing guitar with Paul Mescal: 'He knew it better than I did!'
Paul McCartney on playing guitar with Paul Mescal: 'He knew it better than I did!' Hey, I know you! exclaims Paul McCartney, gripping my hand as we walk into his office in central London. And while I'm realistic enough to know he doesn't really hold treasured memories of our previous encounters, I'm impressed by his ability to defuse the tension of Meeting A Beatle. We gather in Soho at lunchtime. Instead of Wild Honey Pie or Savoy Truffle, McCartney has opted for a simple bagel (topping: a terrifying blend of Marmite and hummus), which he prepared in a kitchenette next to his assistant's desk. As he eats, he scans a printed list of film titles - mainly vintage comedies - looking for something to play at his family movie night.
Spotify and Universal Music agree deal to let subscribers create AI remixes
Spotify said the new tool could create an extra stream of income for artists and songwriters. Spotify said the new tool could create an extra stream of income for artists and songwriters. Spotify and Universal Music Group have agreed on a deal that will allow subscribers to generate song covers and remixes using artificial intelligence. The licensing agreement is the first time the Swedish streaming company will allow listeners to use AI to create content through its platform. It is expected to be in the form of a paid add-on available on Spotify's app.
Spotify adds 'Verified' badges to distinguish human artists from AI
Spotify adds'Verified' badges to distinguish human artists from AI Spotify is introducing a'Verified' badge to help users identify when artists on its platform are human, not AI-generated. The world's most-used music streaming service said the'Verified by Spotify' text and green checkmark icon would appear next to artist names when they meet defined standards demonstrating authenticity. This could include having linked social accounts on their artist profile, consistent listener activity or other signals of a real artist behind the profile, the company said, such as merchandise or concert dates. In its blog post, Spotify said more than 99% of the artists listeners actively search for will be verified, representing hundreds of thousands of artists. It said the process would prioritise acts with important contributions to music culture and history, rather than content farms, with the platform rolling out verification and badges over the coming weeks.
Taylor Swift files to trademark voice and image after AI concerns
Taylor Swift has applied to trademark her voice and appearance in an apparent attempt to protect herself from artificial intelligence impersonations. The pop superstar has lodged three trademark applications in the US - one using a photo of herself on stage during her Eras Tour, and the other two being audio clips of her introducing herself while promoting her last album. AI-generated versions of Swift have cropped up in various ways in recent years - from explicit images to a fake election ad in which she appeared to urge people to vote for Donald Trump. The move comes after actor Matthew McConaughey became the first celebrity to use trademark rules to attempt to protect his voice and image from AI misuse earlier this year . Trademark applications are a relatively new way for celebrities to combat the growing issue of AI rip-offs.
BTS Arirang review: K-pop idols rekindle their fire
The return of BTS is a big deal. In case you were in any doubt, just look at the frenzy surrounding the South Koreans' comeback. On Saturday, the band will kick off a sold-out, 82-date world tour with a free concert in Seoul, which is expected to be attended by more than 250,000 in-person fans and will be live-streamed on Netflix to more than 190 countries. When the tour wraps up in 2027, BTS are expected to have generated more than $1billion in revenue. Some more outlandish estimates suggest they will eclipse the $2billion haul of Taylor Swift's Eras tour.
Sony removes 135,000 deepfakes of its artists' music
Sony removes 135,000 'deepfakes' of its artists' music Music giant Sony Music says it has requested the removal of more than 135,000 songs by fraudsters impersonating its artists on streaming services. The so-called deepfakes were created using generative AI, and targeted some of the company's biggest acts, who include Beyoncé, Queen and Harry Styles In the worst cases, [the deepfakes] potentially damage a release campaign or tarnish the reputation of an artist, said Dennis Kooker, president of Sony's global digital business. The company says the number of songs generated in this fashion is only increasing as artificial intelligence technology becomes cheaper and easier to access. It believes the 135,000 tracks it has discovered to date represents just a percentage of the total uploaded to streaming services. Since last March alone, it has identified some 60,000 songs falsely purporting to feature artists from their roster.
Brains on Beats
We developed task-optimized deep neural networks (DNNs) that achieved state-of-the-art performance in different evaluation scenarios for automatic music tagging. These DNNs were subsequently used to probe the neural representations of music. Representational similarity analysis revealed the existence of a representational gradient across the superior temporal gyrus (STG). Anterior STG was shown to be more sensitive to low-level stimulus features encoded in shallow DNN layers whereas posterior STG was shown to be more sensitive to high-level stimulus features encoded in deep DNN layers.
Race on to establish globally recognised 'AI-free' logo
Race on to establish globally recognised'AI-free' logo Organisations worldwide are racing to develop a universally recognised label for human-made products and services as part of the growing backlash against AI use. Declarations like Proudly Human, Human-made, 'No A.I and AI-free are appearing across films, marketing, books and websites. It is in response to fears that jobs or entire professions are being swept away in a wave of AI-powered automation. BBC News has counted at least eight different initiatives trying to come up with a label that could get the kind of global recognition that the Fair Trade logo has for ethically made products. But with so many competing labels - as well as confusion over the definition of AI-free - experts say consumers are in danger of being left confused unless a single standard can be agreed on.