Amazon Music says it has entered into ‘a collaboration’ with generative AI music company Endel for the latter company to produce wellness playlists using its AI tech.
The Berlin-based AI sound wellness app was founded by a collective of developers and artists. It runs a cross-platform ecosystem of AI-powered apps that produce personalized sounds to help people focus, relax, and sleep.
It uses personal inputs from the user’s movement, time of day, weather, heart rate, location, and other factors to produce personalized soundscapes.
Nearly four years ago, Endel teamed up with Warner Music Group to produce 20 albums, marking the first deal signed with a major label for an algorithm to produce albums.
That deal saw Endel releasing albums on Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, and Deezer. On Spotify, Endel has over 167,000 monthly listeners.
Endel also partnered with Universal Music Group’s Republic to release Endel × James Blake’s Wind Down soundscape as an album. Endel says it has used its approach to generative AI, backed by science, to create soundscapes with James Blake, Grimes, Miguel, and many other artists.
“Generative AI is a hot topic now, but we’ve been applying this technology for years, in radical ways designed to expand music’s possibilities and formats, and to transform how we interact with sound,” said Oleg Stavitsky, co-founder and CEO of Endel.
Now, Endel is partnering with Amazon Music to produce a sleep playlist using its extensive research into the neuroscience of sleep. The playlist lasts about eight hours or until the listener awakens. Amazon Music released it on Friday (February 17).
The playlist, titled Sleep Science, opens with an Amazon Original track featuring electronic duo Kx5 (Kaskade and deadmau5). The track was produced using the hit track, Escape and released through AWAL.
Endel Pacific, Endel’s patented AI-engine, which produces scientifically backed sleep tracks that follow circadian rhythms, processed the source material for the first track on Sleep Science. The source material includes synths and chill vocals, which Endel Pacific processed to get the listener ready for sleep.
According to the company, Endel Pacific creates tracks that prepare the brain for sleep and then help the listener to fall and stay asleep.
“Working with Amazon Music demonstrates how valuable an artful application of AI can be to large music business players and how engaging the sonic results can be for listeners,” added Stavitsky.
“At Endel, we’ve been invested in the neuroscience of functional sound since day one. To successfully deliver functional music, neuroscience has to guide AI technology. The human mind must be at the forefront of this experience.”
Stephen Brower, global co-lead of artist relations for Amazon Music, said: “We’re excited to work with Endel to provide an optimal experience for Amazon Music listeners looking to wind down and settle into sleep.”
“We look forward to our customers discovering their science backed approach as well as their curatorial instincts for unique artist collaborations, including Kx5’s new Amazon Original release.”
“Generative AI is a hot topic now, but we’ve been applying this technology for years, in radical ways designed to expand music’s possibilities and formats, and to transform how we interact with sound.”
Oleg Stavitsky, Endel
The partnership between Endel and Amazon Music follows Amazon’s investment in Endel’s parent company, Techstars Music’18 , through the Alexa Fund. Its other backers include Avex Inc., Major Lazer’s Jillionaire, Plus 8 Equity Partners, Kima Ventures, Impulse Ventures, and DJ La Fleur.
Techstars Music is supported by Warner Music Group, AVEX Group, Sony, Bill Silva Entertainment, Silva Artist Management, Q Prime Management, Concord Music, RecoChoku and Royalty Exchange.
Last year, Endel raised $15 million from its series B funding round led by Roku investor Waverley Capital and True Ventures, an investor in Fitbit, Peloton, Blue Bottle Coffee, and Ring.
Data from Crunchbase shows that Endel has raised $21.2 million in private funding.
Endel’s app is available on iOS, Android, Mac, Amazon Alexa, Apple TV, wearables. It is also available as album releases on streaming platforms.
The company claims that over 2 million people interact with its content every month, collectively generating over 3 million hours of monthly listening time.
Endel’s app received a number of awards including Apple Watch App of the Year 2020, Google Play Best of 2021, and Best Health & Fitness app in the 2022 Product Hunt Golden Kitty Award.
The company has also teamed up with Mercedes-Benz Group Research, All Nippon Airways, Nura, Oura, and Sony – which integrated Endel into its LinkBuds headphones.
Endel’s growing influence in the music industry comes as the use of AI in music production continues to gain traction, In 2020, BMG Production Music (BMGPM) signed a deal with France-based AI-powered music-to-video platform MatchTune, integrating over 15,000 tracks from BMGPM’s catalog integrated into the AI platform.
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