The music industry has been abuzz with talk about the implications of AI, from copyright concerns around “fake Drake” tracks to the ethics of cloning an artist’s voice and style. But according to Lior Tibon, CEO and co-founder of music financing platform Duetti the real transformative impact of AI on music is being overlooked – and it’s all about personalized discovery. Complete Music Update recently published an opinion piece about AI music discovery. I spent hours scanning and analysing the biggest findings for you, so you don’t have to. And it’s also touching on why the Grammy’s may become less relevant.
Everything you need to know: ✓ AI is hyper-accelerating personalized music discovery , reducing the power of editorial playlists
✓ Data-driven algorithmic understanding is becoming crucial for effective music marketing
✓ Duetti’s innovative model uses data to monetize indie artist catalogs in new ways
5 reasons why AI is accelerating music discovery
“The biggest impact that AI is having on the music industry today is not gimmicky vocal clones of superstar artists, or huge volumes of low quality AI-generated tracks. Instead, it’s the ‘hidden’ impact that AI-augmented discovery algorithms will have on discovery and consumption shifts. “
Lior Tibon, CEO & Co-Founder of Duetti
Reason 1 – AI revolutionizes music discovery with personalized recommendations
AI-powered music discovery has the potential to revolutionize the way people find and engage with music by providing highly personalized recommendations tailored to individual tastes and preferences.
Reason 2 – AI uncovers hidden connections in music data
By analyzing vast amounts of data, including listening habits, user interactions, and audio features, AI can identify patterns and connections between songs, artists, and genres, enabling it to suggest new music that users are likely to enjoy.
Reason 3 – AI exposes listeners to diverse music genres
AI music discovery can expose listeners to a wider range of music beyond their usual preferences, helping them discover lesser-known artists and new genres, thereby broadening their musical horizons and supporting emerging talent.
Reason 4 – AI enhances user experience with seamless discovery
AI-powered music discovery platforms can provide a seamless and intuitive user experience by continuously learning from user interactions and refining recommendations in real-time, making it easier for listeners to find new music they love without the need for extensive manual searching.
Reason 5 – AI supports emerging artists and niche genres
By identifying and recommending lesser-known artists and niche genres based on user preferences, AI music discovery can help level the playing field for emerging talent and expose listeners to a wider variety of music, ultimately fostering a more diverse and vibrant music ecosystem.
The #1 reason AI will end the era of blockbuster hits dominating streaming
Victoria Monet AP Interview at Grammy Awards 2024 Tibon argues that AI is going to hyper-accelerate the ongoing shift towards personalized discovery of music by fans. By making the existing discovery algorithms of streaming platforms much more sophisticated and customized to individual listener tastes, AI will drive a fragmentation of music consumption away from big name artists on high-profile editorial playlists.
This has major implications for the current commercial focus and setup in the music industry. “Instead of a number of big ‘superstar’ releases with mass market appeal being amplified through editorial playlisting, AI will support fans and listeners in the discovery of new music and artists at all stages, ” explains Tibon.
The data already points towards this trend. Duetti’s proprietary research shows that over the last six months, algorithmically originated streaming on Spotify grew by over 10%, while editorial driven streams are down by over 20%. Similar shifts are being seen on other major platforms like YouTube.
In this AI-driven world of hyper-personalized discovery, traditional industry markers like the Grammys will become less relevant. Blockbuster hits will still have a place, but Tibon predicts their domination of streaming market share will diminish as listeners are served up a greater diversity of music tailored to their specific tastes.
Discovery, not creation, is the new battleground for artists
“The core challenge in music today is not creation, but discovery,” says Tibon. With tens of millions of tracks being added to streaming platforms each year, sophisticated AI-powered discoverability is becoming essential for both artists and fans.
Out of the 184 million tracks currently on streaming services, Luminate data shows a staggering 83% generate fewer than 1000 streams. “If fans and listeners feel overwhelmed by the volume of music available, and feel that streaming platforms are missing the stuff they care about, or pushing too much stuff they don’t care about, then the whole ecosystem suffers,” explains Tibon.
This presents both challenges and opportunities for artists and their teams. As the impact of editorial playlists diminishes and algorithmic suggestions take priority, music marketers will need to develop a strong grasp of the metrics and mechanics driving recommendation engines.
“Algorithmic understanding will become key to driving music marketing success,” says Tibon. “Understanding how songs are classified and viewed by the algorithms, with associated audience sizes and potential, will become more critical in assessing the marketability of each particular song and concentrating on the right marketing tactics.”
With over 6000 granular genre codes on Spotify alone forming part of how music is classified and served up to listeners, a data-driven approach leveraging advanced analytics tools is essential. Tibon notes there are also significant variations between how different platforms construct and weight their algorithms that marketers need to factor in.
How one company is using AI to democratize music discovery for indie artists
Duetti website While “gaming the algorithms” should be avoided, the focus for marketers should be on optimally positioning music to be picked up by recommendation engines, utilizing assets and audience targeting to send the right signals.
This is where Duetti comes in. By developing sophisticated predictive models, the company is able to acquire and monetize catalogs from independent artists at all stages using data-driven pricing and innovative marketing tactics.
“At Duetti, we are dedicated to making the industry more transparent and unlocking new opportunities for independent artists who are normally overlooked by the investment community and the more traditional label system,” says Tibon.
To date, Duetti has partnered with over 250 indie artists, offering deals ranging from $10K to $2M while expanding the reach of their catalogs through playlist adds, influencer collaborations, and more. The company’s rapid growth has attracted high-profile backers like Roc Nation and Viola Ventures.
As the music industry stands on the precipice of an AI-powered sea change in how fans discover and engage with music, Tibon and the Duetti team are poised to help indie artists ride the wave to success in this brave new algorithmic world. Not through vocal fakery or cheap gimmicks , but by leveraging data to connect listeners with music they’ll love. Welcome to the future of music discovery.
