Brandweek 2023 to Spotlight the Intersection of Music, AI, and Marketing
Phoenix, Arizona — From September 23 to 26, the marketing world turns its eyes to Brandweek, a premier event known for drawing C-suite leaders from globally recognised brands. This year's conference promises to be an epicentre of marketing innovation, featuring keynotes, workshops, and networking events designed to foster collaboration and ideation.
A Meeting of Minds in Music and AI
This year's Brandweek will tackle the intricate relationship between music and generative AI, a subject that has increasingly drawn both enthusiasm and critique within the industry. Tears for Fears and Eminem have embraced the technology to enhance their creative processes, notably in album art and music production. Conversely, Drake recently ignited controversy by using AI to mimic the voice of the late Tupac Shakur in a diss track, highlighting the ethical grey areas surrounding the technology.
Insights from Artists and Industry Leaders
One of the most anticipated sessions at Brandweek features Korean-American singer-songwriter Eric Nam and burgeoning rapper 310babii, also known as Kameron Milner. Both artists shared their experiences of integrating AI into their music-making processes. They were joined by Alexandra Moore, Chief Business Officer (CBO) of Empire, and Mike Van, President of Billboard, to discuss how talent can collaborate effectively with brands.
AI as a Creative Tool and Business Asset
Nam and 310babii offered a balanced view of AI, appreciating its utility in refining music and visualising partnership assets. Nam, who co-founded DIVE Studios, a K-pop-focused digital media company in 2019, emphasised how AI allows artists to train models to create songs in their voices and fine-tune them to perfection.
“There is a lot of conversation around it, but it’s been cool because [artists have] been able to train models so that you can essentially create songs in your voice, sing it as crazy as you possibly can and then tweak from there,” remarked Nam.
310babii echoed a similar sentiment, recognising AI's potential to elevate music production without supplanting the artist's creative autonomy. “I don’t think I would want to be the guy to allow AI to think for me and work for me, but allow it to be a tool to make me better because it could be the difference between me being a great producer or an amazing producer,” he stated.
AI in Artist-Brand Collaborations
From a business angle, Alexandra Moore discussed AI's potential to act as a matchmaker between brands and emerging musicians. In her role at Empire, Moore handles various facets of business operations, including mergers and acquisitions. She sees AI as a facilitator for the democratisation of deals, particularly for independent artists.
“AI can help scale the democratization of deals for artists and for brands,” noted Moore. "I imagine a platform where brands can essentially be match-made with artists that fit certain criteria, and at some point, the dealmakers are not going to be needed to do all of the deals across the board.”
Building Authentic Partnerships
Beyond the realm of AI, Moore stressed the importance of forming long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships between brands and artists. She advocated for equity, co-creator, and revenue share deals as methods to offer artists ownership and autonomy. Moore also advised brands to navigate the complexities of legal rights and to avoid broad exclusivity clauses.
“Understanding who owns all the rights” is crucial, she pointed out, to avoid legal complications. Echoing this sentiment, Nam emphasised the need for brands to conduct thorough research to align with an artist's ethos, fostering authentic and genuine collaborations.
“We don’t want to do things where it doesn’t feel right or we feel like sellouts to our fans,” said Nam. “[Brands should] allow us to word things, edit, and create in a way that showcases who we are, not only as musicians but as personalities in general.”
As Brandweek gears up, these discussions promise to set the stage for future innovations at the convergence of music, technology, and marketing.
Source: Noah Wire Services