almost 40 years For years, SXSW has been a premier festival destination showcasing the best talent in music, film, technology, and art. Each year, audiences, fans, and industry professionals travel from far and wide to catch a glimpse of the many concerts, activities, panels, and experiences that take place in the city of Austin, Texas.
This year, BACARDÍ brought a truly unique experience to the participants of the “Changing Tunes: The Role of AI in Music Creation” panel. The panel was held at the Thompson Hotel in Austin on March 13, 2024, and was moderated by Brian Hiatt, senior writer for Rolling Stone. The panel, which also included Hyatt, included Laila Mignoni (Global Head of Brand Marketing and Communications at BACARDÍ), Alex Booker (Executive Creative Director at BBDO NY), and Boi-1Da (21-time Grammy nominee and award winner) A producer and songwriter) has appeared. These people, who are currently at the forefront of musical innovation, directly introduced him to the concept AIbum, one of the most innovative projects in the world of modern music production.
Boi-1da is no stranger to creating groundbreaking musical expressions. In fact, Boi-1da's track record is nothing short of legendary. To date, he has earned over 60 platinum singles, three RIAA certified diamond records, three Billboard Hot 100 #1s, and numerous A-list charts for his musicians. It has produced top hit songs. But superstars aren't the only artists Boi-1da works with. For the past three years, Boi-1da has been collaborating with BACARDÍ through the Music Liberates Music program, an ongoing program designed to champion underrepresented voices in the music industry. “We've all been fans for a long time,” Mignoni confessed while talking about the brand's decision to collaborate with Boi-1da on his program This Legacy.
“We’ve done quite a few of these programs, and it’s a beautiful intersection of technology and music,” Booker says. “This was a special moment for all of us.” Mignoni agrees, adding that music is in his DNA for Bacardi, as the brand's identity revolves around movement, dance and self-expression. I went on to explain that there was. This creates the perfect platform to elevate and support up-and-coming talent within the music scene through the company's resources. In her opinion, BACARDÍ's Music Liberate Music builds a stage for artists and takes action through active community building.
The Concept AIbum album consists of five amazing tracks from five up-and-coming artists hand-picked by Boi-1da. Some of these artists include Vera, Blackway, Floyd Fuji, Kyle Dion, and Savannah Le, all musicians known especially for their innovative and versatile musical styles. “There were so many great artists to choose from,” Boi-1da said, admitting how impressed he was with the final product. “It worked out perfectly.” Joining the SXSW crowd in the audience, the group of artists listened with smiles as the panel's moderator talked about the album's unparalleled creation process.
This first-of-its-kind AI tool, developed by Tuney in partnership with BACARDÍ, allows artists to create more polished versions of their own original demo tracks using custom-generated music in Boi-1da's production style. I was able to recreate the version and publish it. After uploading the original demos, I used Audio Shake to split each song into stems and separate the vocal tracks from the instrumentals. Built on his API from Tuney, the tool generated an original track to place underneath the vocal, matching the vocal track's beat, tempo, rhythm, and key. The technology uses samples and real assets from a producer's catalog, so an artist can adjust everything from tempo, chord progressions, and other subtle musical details to create an interesting and distinctive sound for his Boi. We were able to create a final product that is true to the original. 1 da sound. This tool shows that with buy-in from all stakeholders and proper licensing of all training data, if done carefully, AI can be used to enhance rather than compete with human creativity. I am.
“The purpose of this tool is to level the playing field for artists in accessing the talent of people like 1da, showcasing their compositional abilities and creating new ideas and demos that bring ideas and demos to a higher standard. “It was about providing a way,” Booker said.
Despite general concerns about AI and the potential negative effects of its place in the music industry, from Boi-1da's perspective, he and the musicians associated with him had complete autonomy. Both were able to maintain artistic integrity throughout the process of creating Concept AIbum. About the tools they used. “It gives you a real sense that you're not just relying on a machine to create the final output,” Boi-1da says, adding that AI is simply a technical tool that allows artists to artistically fine-tune throughout the process. I explained that it was just used as a thought prompt. “That’s when the human element comes back.”
The panel discussed at length how powerful the tool's efficiency is, with Booker saying the final tool will be able to spit out approximately 3.6 billion different iterations of a track, allowing artists to work as fast as possible. I said that I can now do it. I usually never work. ” Additionally, panel discussion guests agreed that this tool is the perfect way for musicians to maximize their creative output while maintaining a fast-paced rock star lifestyle. “For me, it's more productive than destructive, because I'm basically just multiplying myself and maximizing my efficiency,” he says Boi-1da. “I got to work with all these amazing artists sitting here at the same time in different parts of the planet.”
When asked about his reasons for adopting the tools created by BACARDÍ, Boi-1da said he is always open to expanding his music and finding new ways to create through technology. “I'm both a music leader and a production leader,” Boi-1da declares. “Especially at this point in music right now, I feel like we need new sounds, new rhythms, new ways to find everything to keep it going and keep it exciting.”
Both the Vinyl and BACARDÍ panels proved how exciting this new wave of emerging technology in music is for musicians and music geeks alike. The producer went on to share personal trivia about working with some of the world's biggest artists and more throughout his hour-long panel at this year's SXSW, delighting viewers and inspiring chats. Stream Concept AIbum here or buy it here.