AI music analysis and recommendation company Cyanite has acquired aptone, an AI-based service that allows music producers to classify and search samples.
Cyanite said the acquisition is aimed at expanding its AI solutions within the music industry and driving its international growth.
With the integration of aptone’s sample platform, Cyanite aims to enhance the accuracy of its music analysis and tagging capabilities.
Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Cyanite previously raised €800,000 (approx. USD $853,000) in its seed round, according to Crunchbase data.
Both Cyanite and aptone are based in Germany.
By acquiring aptone, Cyanite says it moves closer to its goal of creating “a universal music intelligence” capable of understanding, indexing, and recommending music from around the world.
Johannes Giani, one of the co-founders of aptone, will assume the role of Director of Information Technology on Cyanite’s board, effective immediately.
Giani’s expertise in cloud-based system architecture will contribute to further technological advancements and the expansion of Cyanite’s offerings for its global client base, which includes prominent names like BMG, Pond5, APM Music, and RTL, Cyanite said in a press release on Wednesday (May 31).
“Through our ongoing contact with Cyanite, we have built a fruitful relationship of trust over many months. Now we are extremely excited to join forces and develop innovative solutions together in the future.”
Johannes Giani, aptone
“Through our ongoing contact with Cyanite, we have built a fruitful relationship of trust over many months. Now we are extremely excited to join forces and develop innovative solutions together in the future,” said Giani.
Giani added that by working together, the two companies not only complement each other technologically, but also in terms of content.
“We believe that our combined expertise in AI, software and the music industry will create new opportunities to provide a unique offering to our customers – from creation to exploitation.
“I have spent three years with my co-founders Basti and Tim building up aptone, and we are extremely proud to be part of the Cyanite family which marks a successful end to our startup.”
Cyanite CEO Markus Schwarzer added: “I have been mentoring the aptone team for quite some time now and have always been impressed by their growth and technological finesse, and I’m delighted they will formally be part of Cyanite.
“Johannes’ expertise in product management and system architecture will be a valuable addition to our team and he will help us provide our customers with the best and most reliable AI solutions.”
Added Schwarzer: “Johannes’ addition to the team comes at a crucial time – there has never been more music available than today; we need technology to help us to handle it. Our vision of a universal music intelligence has always been clear, and with this acquisition we will be able to advance this vision even further.”
Meanwhile, aptone Co-founder Bastian Werner will continue his career at the Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems (IAIS), while Co-founder Tim Franken will take a career break following the merger.
Cyanite’s acquisition of aptone comes at a time of growing interest in the use of AI in music creation. Companies across the industry are exploring the potential of AI in music production and consumption.
Last week, collaboration platform boombox.io secured $7 million in seed funding, while Anghami, dubbed regarded as the Spotify of the Middle East and North Africa region, recently announced the launch of its AI-Powered Personalized Podcast and AI Newsroom. Anghami’s AI Newsroom is an innovative daily podcast generated exclusively by AI, eliminating the need for human intervention.
In China, Tencent Music Entertainment, the country’s largest music streaming company, is developing AI-powered music making-tools that it says will “help reduce the barrier to music creation’” for artists.
Back in 2020, Cyanite participated in a mentoring program by Marathon Music Group, called Marathon Labs. The program provided business development sessions and networking events.Music Business Worldwide