- The Ringer founder Bill Simmons has hinted at Spotify’s future AI plans.
- He said that the streaming service is working on technology development for AI-generated ads.
- Voice-learning AI became a controversial topic in the music industry last month.
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As Semafor first reported, Bill Simmons, founder of Spotify-owned podcast network The Ringer, said the streaming platform would use an AI trained on the host’s voice to create targeted ads. He said he is developing a tool.
“I don’t think Spotify will get mad at me for this, but we’re working on something like that,” Simmons told Atlantic editor Derek Thompson in an episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast. said in a conversation with Mr. “There will be ways to use my voice in advertising. Of course, I have to get my voice approved, but from an advertising point of view, it opens up a lot of great possibilities.”
Simmons, who sold The Ringer to Spotify for nearly $200 million in 2020, outlined the potential of AI advertising to personalize ads for ticket companies, for example, targeting listeners to events in specific cities. He said it could be geo-targeted.
He also discussed the potential of AI to make podcasts more accessible through translation.
In theory, Simmons said, AI bots trained on his previous podcasts and writings could also create a podcast that recreated every beat Simmons touched during his own recordings. .
“Would people prefer to interact with a bot or listen to my podcast?” he asked.
Simmons and The Ringer did not immediately respond to an insider’s request for comment.
“We are constantly working to enhance the Spotify experience and test new services that benefit creators, advertisers and users,” a Spotify spokesperson said in a statement. “Advertising is an interesting canvas for future exploration, but we have nothing to announce at this time.”
AI in general is growing as a topic of conversation. increased by 500% According to Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, it has the most daily podcast episodes discussing AI in the past month. And using people’s voices to create AI-generated content is particularly hot.
AI-generated music that leverages the vocals and production styles of mainstream artists such as Drake, The Weeknd, and Travis Scott has gone viral in recent weeks. Big labels are swiftly removing these songs from their streaming services to prevent other companies from profiting from their clients’ likenesses.
The relative ease of generating AI music has also opened up opportunities for fraud. Some fans were forced to pay for what they believed was an unreleased Frank Ocean song, but it turns out the recording was generated by his AI.
Artists like Ice Cube called the AI music “diabolical” and added that anyone who creates or distributes AI-generated tracks in his style will be sued.
But others like Grimes welcome the technology. She said she plans to split the royalties evenly with anyone who can create hit songs using her AI tools that mimic her sound.
In response to the conversation, Spotify earlier this month removed tens of thousands of AI-generated songs uploaded to its platform by AI startup Boomy.
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