Watch: Sony released two new songs from an unsigned AI
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Creative machines should be decades away but they're here, today, and increasingly it looks like "creativity" is just another word for "algorithm." Sony recently announced that they’ve released two brand new pop songs from a new, unsigned artist, and while the announcement shouldn’t seem even worth noting, after all, Sony’s one of the world’s largest music company’s with over $5 billion in revenues, these songs were different.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2017) 'Watch: Sony released two new songs from an unsigned AI', 311 Institute, 20 April. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/watch-sony-released-two-new-songs-from-an-unsigned-ai/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF
Creative machines should be decades away but they're here, today, and increasingly it looks like "creativity" is just another word for "algorithm."
Sony recently announced that they’ve released two brand new pop songs from a new, unsigned artist, and while the announcement shouldn’t seem even worth noting, after all, Sony’s one of the world’s largest music company’s with over $5 billion in revenues, these songs were different. They're arguably the future of music, but it's not because of their content, it's because the unsigned artist... well, it's an artificial intelligence (AI). And that's bad news if you’re an artist...
Analysts, pah to analysts by the way, futurists rule, have told us for decades that creative machines wouldn't appear on the horizon until at least the 2040's but as ever technology moves faster than expected, and now Sony's AI is simply one of a number of new creative machines I've seen emerge. Now check out the first one called “Daddy’s Car” created in the style of The Beatles.
This particular song was created by the folks at Sony’s CSL Research Laboratory using a piece of software they call “Flow Machines.”
So you might be wondering how it works, so let me enlighten you… the Flow Machines software learns music styles from an exhaustive catalogue of songs, then simply exploits unique combinations of styles as well as optimisation and interaction techniques which it uses to compose music in just about any style or genre.
The second pop song, below, is called “The Ballad of Mr. Shadow” which is apparently a hat tip to our new AI overlords. The song was created in the style of American songwriters like Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and Irving Berlin, among others.
Naturally Sony aren’t the only company playing around with AI to create new music, Google have a musical AI called Magenta, that I wrote about a while ago. However, unlike Google though Sony have said that they plan on releasing the world’s first fully composed AI album later this year so watch out folks – an AI could soon be topping the Billboard charts.
Tell me what you think of the songs in the comments, and remember this is just the beginning…
FAQ
Why does this matter?
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Creative machines should be decades away but they're here, today, and increasingly it looks like "creativity" is just another word for "algorithm." Sony recently announced that they’ve released two brand new pop songs from a new, unsigned artist, and while the announcement shouldn’t seem even worth noting, after all, Sony’s one of the world’s largest music company’s with over $5 billion in revenues, these songs were different.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 20 April 2017. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2017). Watch: Sony released two new songs from an unsigned AI. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/watch-sony-released-two-new-songs-from-an-unsigned-ai/
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