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And Finally Business News Deals Digital Labels & Publishers
AI soundalikes platform WAVs AI scores $20 million investment
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 20 June 2023
Finance firm Regal Investments last week announced it is pumping $20 million into a music AI platform called WAVs AI, which seems to mainly aggregate the kinds of AI-generated tracks that the music industry has been getting rather stressed about of late.
So while the official blurb encourages users to “listen to top songs by AI artists and connect with music lovers from all around the globe”, the discovery tab on the WAVs AI site showcases tracks by soundalike AI artists including Draik, WKND, Ariana Granday, Freddie Mercurai and MJai.
And high up the recommendations list is ‘Heart On My Sleeve’, the AI-generated fake Drake and The Weeknd collaboration that sparked a lot of the recent industry chatter about tracks of this kind.
Given that the music industry is currently keen to crack down on the distribution of tracks created by AI tools that are trained with existing music without licence – and/or which feature vocals designed to sound like human artists without those artists’ express permission – it’s interesting that Regal is keen to pump so much money into the WAVs AI venture.
Equally interesting is a statement within the official announcement of the Regal investment that says that WAVs AI is “a rising star in the music tech scene making compromises with record labels and artists in the AI music revolution”.
What those compromises involve isn’t clear, though Regal Investments CEO Roble Regal says: “The music industry is on the cusp of a revolution, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence. I firmly believe that traditional music companies will be dethroned in the coming years by innovative AI-driven platforms”.
“At Regal Investments”, he goes on, “we are committed to identifying and supporting groundbreaking ventures that disrupt conventional norms. Our investment in WAVs AI reflects our determination to lead the way in this transformative era”.
So that sounds like fun. WAVs AI spokesperson Tyler Herrera adds: “We are THRILLED to have Regal Investments as our strategic partner and investor. This significant investment will enable us to propel our mission of revolutionising the way people discover and engage with music”.
“With Regal Investments’ support”, Herrera continues, “we will continue to strike deals with artists and record labels, broaden our user base, and establish WAVs AI as a dominant force in the music streaming industry”. Yeah, good luck with that.
