Another startup has added a new wrinkle to the growing ways artificial intelligence is affecting content creation — this time with a feature that analyzes video and creates music geared toward the footage.
GenreX (as in music genre) is currently being incubated at Seattle’s AI2 Incubator. Co-founders Yihao Chen and Malcom Yang are split between the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle.
Calling the beta launch of its video-to-music technology “groundbreaking” and a “significant leap forward” in the creative process, GenreX’s AI-powered tool doesn’t need text prompts like those that fuel OpenAI’s ChatGPT or other competitors, such as image generator Midjourney.
GenreX’s software analyzes various attributes of a video — such as the skiing footage below — and uses that information to direct its music generator to come up with an original soundtrack in seconds. If the music isn’t a suitable match, the creator can simply hit “regenerate” to create a new track. The tool never generates the same music twice.
The tech is geared toward content producers of all kinds, including filmmakers and advertisers who are looking to cut down on the time spent creating or selecting music for specific projects.
“I believe that we are the first to directly streamline the process by uploading video and getting music back,” said Chen. “There might be some similar things, getting some music ideas for videos, but I believe the whole end-to-end system that we’re building right now is a first of a kind.”
It’s the latest move by a startup with ties to Seattle to unite artificial intelligence to the craft of creating music. Others, such as Soundry AI, are using generative AI to help create music tracks. And Jacob Colker, managing director of AI2 Incubator, previously used text prompts in OpenAI’s DALL-E 2 to help create a music video for his band King//Colker.
“In a world where technology and art converge, GenreX’s video-to-music AI stands as a testament to innovation, enabling creators to translate visual stories into auditory experiences with unprecedented precision and flair,” Colker said.
Chen has a background in music and AI research, which he studied at Cornell University and Georgia Institute of Technology. He’s trained in classic flute, plays a little bit of piano, has done some music composition, sings and even beatboxes. But lately he’s been fascinated by technology and music.
“I started this company [after] a lot of musician friends told me that they were having trouble when it comes to inspiration. Creating music is hard even for musicians,” he said. “So I view AI or technology in general to be a booster of human creativity that can be added to existing music or the creative landscape.”
GenreX’s music AI is free to use right now in its own standalone app. It’s also available as an Adobe Express add-on and will soon be available on Canva as the startup looks to meet creators where they’re already building.
