A Little Knowledge… #59

?Welcome to A Little Knowledge #59 – our free weekly LinkedIn newsletter.

?? BULLETIN NEWS: ?AI music startup Udio launches with a splash (and some concerns)

AI music startup Udio emerged from closed beta last week. Founded by former researchers from Google’s DeepMind AI division, the service is aimed at a wide range of users, from people who want to create a quick piece of music for a social-media post through to aspiring and professional artists. And it’s fair to say it has become a big talking point online.

• Its launch sparked plenty of excited tweets praising the quality of its model – and the visualisations that accompany songs generated by Udio are a clever move in terms of creating social media buzz.
• Many of those tweets praising Udio also compared it to another buzzy AI music startup, Suno. Opinions varied on which is better, the overall sense was of a potential rivalry that could push the quality, awareness and usage of AI music forward.And it’s fair to say it has become a big talking point online.
• But… there are some concerns too. Udio is already facing questions about what music it trained its model on – a question its co-founders stepped carefully around in an interview with Music Ally . Ed Newton-Rex, the former Stability AI exec turned ‘Fairly Trained’ ethical-AI certifier, has been voicing those concerns online.
• Newton-Rex has also publicly called out Suno. Which raises a question. If the two currently-buzziest AI music startups aren’t training their models in a way that the music industry approves of, how are rightsholders going to react? And will these startups have an advantage over rivals who are doing things by the industry’s book?

???You can read our coverage in full here .

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??MUSIC ALLY: NOW ON WHATSAPP

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The Music Ally WhatsApp Channel is a simple way to stay on top of music business news: every afternoon (UK time), we’ll post the lead story, and also links to the rest of the day’s news. Click here to sign up .

???MUSIC ALLY FOCUS PODCAST: ?New?episodes?you may have missed

The?Music Ally Focus?podcast?discusses interesting topics from across the music industry with?a?host?of?experts - and all?in just?30 minutes. This week we reached our 150th episode so?there are?a wealth of interesting discussions ?for you to?explore in the archive! Here’s a selection of recent episodes you may have missed:

· How do people search for music??For Episode 146, made in partnership with AIMS API, we spoke to?Einar Helde, co-founder and COO, about how people search for music. Helde believes new search capabilities will become important as?the market braces for a flood of AI-generated music .

· Marketing music to Gen Z:?in Episode 148?Keturah Cummings, founder/CEO of Forward Slash, a social media agency and content production studio that specialises in connecting with youth audiences, explains?where marketing efforts should be focused in an increasingly D2C environment .

· How to make disabled people’s access to live events environmentally sustainable:?For our 150th Episode,?Suzanne Bull, founder of?Attitude is Everything, and Dr Teresa Moore, Director at?A Greener Future, who?spoke about how the twin issues of sustainability at music festivals and access for people with disabilities connect, and why they’re opening up a conversation about?how the sustainability challenge can incorporate the needs of people with disabilities .?

?????Get stuck in! Follow along – and listen to all these?episodes?here .?

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?? MUSIC ALLY JOBS

The latest and best jobs for the global music business, trusted by both top music industry companies and experienced professionals on top of their game.

Are you looking for a job? Click here to see the full list of vacancies!

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?? A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA...

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And finally… our daily Bulletin newsletter is loved by subscribers for its instant industry analysis - but secretly, the part they like most is the ‘A Little Something Extra’ section at the bottom of the email. Here's a few of the best recent links:

• Video footage has re-emerged of?The Simpsons voice actors improvising together in character.
• The latest viral hit for gaming streamers is…?a game about trying to go viral by doing scary things . Very meta..
• Ever with its finger on the pulse, Wired has interviewed 'A Guy Who Got a Vasectomy During the East Coast Earthquake '.

This is only a glimpse into this week's The Knowledge newsletter – subscribe for FREE ?and every Friday it’ll arrive in your inbox with:

?? Exclusive access to selected courses in our LEARNING HUB; ??? The best new platforms in TOOLS; ??Highlights from our latest COUNTRY PROFILE REPORTS; ?? ?? Some great and/or strange music in SOMETHING 4 THE WEEKEND; ?? A look back in TIME MACHINE; ?? The Music Ally Focus PODCAST; and ?? more links to our favourite unusual stuff in A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA.