Beat-buying and selling platform BeatStars has become a prominent player in the music creation space over the past few years.
The platform, founded by CEO Abe Batshon in 2008, says that it currently serves a community of over 10 million creators, producers, and recording artists globally, and as previously reported by MBW, it has been the source of samples for hits like Old Town Road by Lil Nas X, Whoopty by CJ.
Another recent hit song produced by a BeatStars member was d4vd’s Romantic Homicide.
BeatStars revealed today (July 25) that it has entered into a strategic alliance with an AI music startup called Lemonaide, which has developed an AI-powered plug-in that generates ideas for beats.
It was founded in 2021 by Hip-Hop artist Michael “MJ” Jacob. The startup also counts Anirudh Mani, an AI Research Scientist as a Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer.
Lemonaide says that its AI is trained “exclusively on voluntarily contributed data from producers” and as explained by founder Jacob in the video below, the tool can generate millions of different combinations:
According to the press release announcing the partnership between BeatStars and Lemonaide, “by embracing AI early on, they aim to establish a precedent for ethical AI business models in the music industry”.
BeatStars has also confirmed in its latest announcement that it has now paid out over $250 million to its members through its marketplace and publishing services to date (The company struck a partnership with Sony Music Publishing in 2020).
Meanwhile, the company reached what it says was a “proud milestone” earlier this year when its producers contributed to works that earned three 2023 Grammy awards.
“The Lemonaide team shares our commitment to protecting creators and equipping them with the tools they need to make great music.”
Abe Batshon, BeatStars
“MJ built Lemonaide from the ground up with the right intentions in mind – not to replace producers and artists, but to inspire them,” says BeatStars CEO and Founder Abe Batshon.
“The Lemonaide team shares our commitment to protecting creators and equipping them with the tools they need to make great music.”
“Having started my music career as a BeatStars member, this really feels like a full-circle moment.”
Michael Jacob, Lemonaide
Michael Jacob, CEO and Founder of Lemonaide said: “Having started my music career as a BeatStars member, this really feels like a full-circle moment.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the creativity sparked among the community as a result of our partnership with BeatStars.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Lemonaide, a true pioneer in the field of AI music.”
Sean Gorman, BeatStars
Sean Gorman, BeatStars Chief Operating Officer said: “We are thrilled to partner with Lemonaide, a true pioneer in the field of AI music.
“Together, we aim to provide creators with powerful tools that respect their creative vision and support their artistic journey.
“By incorporating ethical AI practices from the outset, we can revolutionize the way artists work with AI and create a positive impact in the music industry.”
BeatStars’ partnership with a start-up in the AI-powered music-making space arrives amid a flurry of new AI-powered production tools over the past couple of years.
Splice, another key player in the music creator space, recently launched the Create a Stack feature, which it says uses AI to match sounds from across the Splice catalog “to give you endless songstarters”. The comapny also previously launched CoSo, an AI-powered music creation app.
Elsewhere, TikTok parent entered the fray last month with the launch of the Ripple app, which has two key features: a ‘Melody to Song’ generator and a virtual recording studio.
Singapore-based BandLab also offers an AI music generator tool called SongStarter, in addition to a range of tools for emerging creators like cross-platform digital audio workstation Studio, and royalty-free sample and loops service Sounds.
Music Business Worldwide
