Apple takes on specialists to adapt pieces of music using AI

Our listening habits have changed significantly in the last ten years. While we used to buy tracks on iTunes, CDs in stores or downloaded them from YouTube, many of us now have access to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music or Deezer. By 2019, over 300 million paying accounts had come together (paywall), an end doesn’t seem in sight for the time being.

So while we now have access to over 30 million songs and can sit back, the services are fighting for every single user. There are hardly any functions that are exclusively available on one platform, so each service has comparatively the same chances. After Apple Music wanted to attract more customers with better sound quality, further changes on the platform seem to be imminent.

This is indicated by recent acquisitions by Apple. Last August, the group bought Primephonic, a provider of classical music, and now it is taking over AI Music. This is a small start-up that wants to use artificial intelligence to generate the perfect playlist for everyone. The approach to this is quite interesting, even if only royalty-free titles can be used so far.

Because AI Music dumps the music into an algorithm and changes it so that it suits the listener. If you are exercising, a piece of music would become faster and more rhythmic, while on the way to bed the same song could sound slower and more soothing. In addition to private use, AI Music names other areas of application, for example in marketing, in the gym or for filmmakers.

Apple has yet to comment on the acquisition, but parts of the AI ​​could find their way into Apple Music. Users could receive playlists with customized tracks that reflect the person’s mood. A song by Ed Sheran, among others, could then sound melancholic one moment and motivating the next.

It can still be used in advertising campaigns, on Apple TV+ or Apple Fitness+. Imagine an Apple commercial that looks and sounds different based on the user’s location and mood. Either way, it remains exciting to see what Apple will do with its in-house service in the coming years.

Via gizmodo