Songscription, an AI-powered music transcription platform, has raised $5 million in a funding round led by Reach Capital.
The startup, which launched in June, describes itself as “the Shazam for sheet music.” It operates a platform that converts audio recordings into editable sheet music. Since launching five months ago, Songscription says it has now attracted more than 150,000 users across 150 countries.
The platform currently supports piano, violin, flute, guitar, bass guitar, and trumpet, with plans to add more instruments. The startup has trained its models using public domain material and through partnerships with individual artists and music companies. Songscription says it’s currently negotiating with global music publishers to access additional training data.
Reach Capital, which also led Songscription’s previous funding round, was joined by Emerge Capital, 10x Founders, and Dent Capital. Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, former lead guitarist for Guns N’ Roses, participated as an angel investor and serves as an advisor to the company.
Songscription Co-Founder and CEO Andrew Carlins said the technology addresses the difficulty of obtaining accurate notation for songs that don’t have officially published sheet music.
“Most musicians can’t easily find notation for the songs they actually want to play… We’re using AI to close that gap.”
Andrew Carlins, Songscription
“Most musicians can’t easily find notation for the songs they actually want to play, especially as platforms like Spotify have made more niche artists’ music increasingly accessible.”
Carlins added: “We’re using AI to close that gap. Now artists can instantly create notation for their songs, allowing fans to connect in new ways.” The company’s mission is personal to Carlins, who grew up with a stutter and found that singing allowed him to speak fluently.
Songscription’s AI models analyze uploaded audio and produce sheet music, guitar tabs, or MIDI files that users can edit directly on the platform.
Songscription plans to use the funding to expand its instrument library and enhance its features to allow users to automatically level and arrange pieces to match their skills. The company is also building a system to provide real-time feedback, creating what the company describe as a “music coach in your pocket.”
“As a guitarist, our world is about getting the tabs and getting it right. For music teachers and players to have this assistance is phenomenal.”
Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, Ex-Guns N’ Roses
Thal said: “As a guitarist, our world is about getting the tabs and getting it right. For music teachers and players to have this assistance is phenomenal. Even us professionals can use it to save hours of time trying to recall what we played on albums we recorded years ago. It’s a real game changer.”
Elizabeth Moody, a partner at Granderson Des Rochers who advises Songscription, said: “For Songscription, ethics are top of mind, and we are working closely to sign deals with more industry players, including major publishers, to ensure their service honors all stakeholders.”
Jennifer Carolan, Co-founder and General Partner of Reach Capital, said: “AI is transforming how people around the world create and enjoy music. With its powerful and precise AI transcription platform, Songscription enables musicians at all levels to learn, play, and share the songs they love.”
Songscription was founded by Carlins, Alex Alvarado-Barahona, Katie Baker and Tim Beyer.
The funding comes as AI applications in music face scrutiny over copyright and fair use. Nearly two months ago, music giants Universal Music Group and Sony Music teamed up to use what they call “groundbreaking neural fingerprinting technologies” to detect copyright infringement in AI-generated music.
As MBW previously reported, the current spate of lawsuits against AI companies largely relies on comparisons of sheet music or lyrics to make the case that an AI-generated piece of music ripped off a human-made original.
For Songscription, the company said it will involve major stakeholders in the industry, from rightsholders to publishers, as it expands.
Music Business Worldwide