Bloomberg reports that Apple has bought a London-based startup called Al Music which uses AI (artificial intelligence) to produce “tailor-made” music. People familiar with the matter said that the new technology can be used across the tech giant’s audio libraries.
The Cupertino tech company acquired Shazam app for $400 million in 2018 and used its unique audio recognition technology to introduce DJ mixes on Apple Music. DJ mixes are mostly not offered on music streaming platforms because they use multiple clips from various artists which raises royalty and copyright issues. But with Shazam, Apple Music can identify each artist in DJ mixes and is working with labels to fairly divide royalties amongst DJs, artists, labels, and others part of the mixes.
Going on step further, Al Music technology will completely remove the royalty issue for the tech giant because its AI uses royalty-free music and edits it according to users’ moods or needs.
The newly bought Al Music would allow Apple to create custom soundtracks using royalty-free music
Founded in 2016, AI Music’s technology is capable of producing unique soundtracks using royalty-free music which reflects the users’ mood. The company says it aims to give consumers the “power” to select the music they want to listen, and “seamlessly edited to fit their needs or create dynamic solutions that adapt to fit their audiences.”
Technology developed by AI Music can create soundtracks using royalty-free music and artificial intelligence, according to a copy of its now-defunct website. The idea is to generate dynamic soundtracks that change based on user interaction. A song in a video game could change to fit the mood, for instance, music during a workout could adapt to the user’s intensity.
The acquisition amount of the deal is not known. Presumably, the new company was acquired for $30 million or above.
Apple dramatically slowed down its acquisition spending during 2021, devoting only $33 million to deal payments over the fiscal year, according to a filing in October. That’s down from $1.5 billion in 2020 and $624 million in 2019.
The report also mentions that the company will incorporate the Primephonic app into Apple Music this year. In August 2021, Apple acquired Primephonic, a classical music streaming service, and began hiring new team members to produce a new classic music experience for its music streaming platform.
