Hello, Audio!

Recently, there has been an immense boom around startups working in the field of music and artificial intelligence. We see companies and individuals embracing the new technology in various fields of music production, composing, performing to music recognition. But how new is this technology really? In this episode Helen Meyer talks with Dr Leigh Smith, Senior Research Engineer at Landr, who has been working in the field of music and AI for more than 20 years now. He gives us a wrap up about how it all started, what the state of the art is and what he thinks the future may bring. Want to dive deeper? Here are some useful links: ISMIR - International Society for Music Information Retrieval https://www.ismir.net ISMIR 2019 - International Symposium for Music Information Retrieval 2019 https://ismir2019.ismir.net GANs - ISMIR tutorial on Generating Music with Generative Adversarial Networks https://salu133445.github.io/ismir2019tutorial WiMIR - Women in Music Information Retrieval website https://wimir.wordpress.com/ Portrait XO - artist using neural networks for generating an album of vocal processing https://www.reeperbahnfestival.com/en/speaker/portrait-xo-portrait-xo Aaron Burnett & The Big Machine "The Prototype” https://open.spotify.com/track/12zlZ8URX0gm8rxniduLUi?si=egX_cDCpRKGQvcN_LHODJg from the album “Anomaly" https://www.discogs.com/Aaron-Burnett-The-Big-Machine-Anomaly/release/13032173

Although having your own podcast is very time consuming, podcasts are currently flooding the German market but hardly anyone can even compensate the costs for the production. The American podcasting scene is a few years ahead of us, having big production companies and an advertisement revenue that is expected to hit 1 billion USD by 2021. Meanwhile in Germany, the podcasting industry does not seem to be on the radar of big companies’ digital marketing mix yet. What possibilities do German podcasters have to monetize their podcasts and how do they become relevant for the advertising market? Christoph Falke, Head of Audio at Axel Springer SE, Vincent Kittmann, Head of Podstars by OMR, a podcast marketing and production company and James Harper, owner of podcast “Filter Stories”, a documentary podcast that sheds a light on the stories of people hidden in the shadows of the coffee industry, talk about their experience with podcast monetization and how to improve it.

Do you want to found a business but are unsure about the first steps? This special podcast series of “Hello, Audio!” recaps the event called “Found Your Future” which was launched by The Venue Berlin in cooperation with students from Popakademie: Beere, Fabian and Lukas. In this podcast we will focus on some of the main points when it comes to founding. Founders and experts from the creative industry are sharing their knowledge in different keynotes. In this episode, Tilmann Kemper and Anastasia Troyanov from APX are sharing their knowledge about finance investment readiness and sources of funding.

Do you want to found a business but are unsure about the first steps? This special podcast series of “Hello, Audio!” recaps the event called “Found Your Future” which was launched by The Venue Berlin in cooperation with students from Popakademie: Beere, Fabian and Lukas. In this podcast we will focus on some of the main points when it comes to founding. Founders and experts from the creative industry are sharing their knowledge in different keynotes. The first part of this series is an interview with Simon de Koning from ELEVEN who is getting interviewed by Helen Meyer from The Venue Berlin about how to stay motivated and believe in your idea while founding a business.

Music streaming services like Spotify and Pandora have changed the way we discover new music. These services use algorithms to provide music recommendation. They suggests songs to listeners corrisponding to their taste. But who determines what kind of music these algorithms suggest? How will music streaming services improve in the future? What about protection of data privacy? In this episode of “Hello, Audio!“, Helen was on tour at Future Music Camp in Mannheim and met up with Prof. Peter Knees from the Technical University of Vienna who is researching on music recommendation systems.

On March 26th, the European parliament has backed the new and much discussed EU copyright law. One main change is that internet platforms that offer users to upload their own content are now responsible of the right copyright permission for this material. While the law’s aim is to protect creators' rights to get paid fairly for their work, one major implication is that anything posted on the internet will be subject to censorship, so opponents of the bill say this will stifle freedom and creativity on online mediums. This might especially affect unsigned artists and parodies. But what does Article 13 actually mean? When will it be implemented and would it need to be changed so that artists get their share, but the freedom of internet is not affected? Find out in this episode of “Hello, Audio!” where Helen discusses this with Felix Stang, associate partner at the law firm Raue in Berlin in the area of copyright and media law; Micki Meuser, composer and music producer from Berlin; and Steffen Holly (Sholly), leader of the business unit Media Management and Delivery of the Fraunhofer Institute.

Digitization has dramatically changed the way musicians produce and distribute music. Everyone can produce content much easier and faster, but this also leads to more competition and pressure. Due to digitization, musicians now face higher expectations than ever before. Produce more, release more, tour more. This comes along with sleep deprivation, high levels of stress and anxiety, isolation and substance abuse. Is digitization being the trigger to mental health issues on artists? Or is it just a general issue? On this episode of “Hello, Audio!” Helen discusses with Franziska Eichler, a transformational coach working with leading figures of the creative industry; Laura Aha, a Berlin-based music journalist from Musikexpress; Mira Culic Griffith, counsellor, coach and founder of The Mind Takeaway; Noura Labani, founder of the artist and label management agency Starling; and Peter Griffith, creativity coach and musician, about how digitization is impacting creative’s mental health and how can they win the battle.

The role of sonic branding is constantly increasing in our everyday lives, sometimes in a subconscious way. New audio mediums and technologies such as smart speakers, voice assistants, and podcasts are establishing themselves as an essential part of our life, making sonic branding especially relevant. So what exactly is sonic branding? In short, it’s the action of translating a brand’s identity in an audio way. Every brand should be recognizable through more than just the visuals. While people are used to seeing corporate designs and recognizing brands via their visual styles and colors, now more than ever, it’s also crucial for them to be recognizable through sounds. And this goes beyond just a jingle – these days, brands are looking for sounds that describe their personality and goes hand in hand with their various identity assets. Joining us on this episode of Hello, Audio! are why do birds and WESOUND, two Berlin-based audio agencies, as well as Jambl and Playtronica, two proprietary sets of technologies allowing to harness the power of brand sounds.

Should musicians and producers be scared of AI? That’s a question we hear often around here. But seeing as we already have our feet firmly planted in a future where many aspects of our lives are complemented by various forms of AI, we do believe there are reasons to embrace it. Today on Hello, Audio! Helen has a chat with Rock Trembath, Director of Global Marketing at LANDR, whose product evolved from an AI mastering software to a complete creative platform for musicians. LANDR has recently reached two million users, so we also have reasons to believe AI is here to stay. LANDR’s mandate is to help musicians make their best music and tell the world about it. Their primary product is a music mastering algorithm based on AI: a musician can just drop a track for it to be analyzed and processed in a similar way a mastering engineer would do - except it takes about a minute and is a fraction of the cost. And since LANDR is also a digital distribution service on top their other products (and since music production is becoming increasingly cheaper for artists), we segued the conversation towards the future of music and the independence of artists. Is this the beginning of the end for the big players? With the happening of streaming platforms, “echo-chambers” created by the likes of Facebook where everything is becoming more and more individualized, will there still be superstars? Tune in to find out!

As technology and new media are changing at the speed of light, so do the means for marketing and promoting of anything and everything. Music is obviously no exception. These days, musicians have the freedom to experiment with novel marketing methods such as free distribution, while relying on alternate avenues to generate revenue, such as touring and merchandise. Today on this episode of Hello, Audio!, we take you to our live After Work Session on the Independence of Artists in the Digital Age. Together with Steffi C, Founder of MusikMatter, Karl Ollie Goedicke, Founder of Blkchn Records, and Lena Engeln, Marketing and Project Manager at gigmit, Helen discusses what is actually happening today in the music industry. Do artists need to be independent? How can they do that? What services are available to them? What are the limitations? When do artists need support? But also, what are the middlemen doing these days? Are they still important? Do artists still need them? Do they still need the big players? Or can they do everything by themselves? Let’s find out! And visit us at www.thevenueberlin.com for more!

One thing we work tirelessly towards at The Venue Berlin is finding the best scalable startup ideas in music and audio tech. More than just a coworking space, a recording studio and a venue, we’re also here to offer support and create synergies through mentoring, access to our network and facilities, and investment opportunities. And this couldn’t be done without today’s guest. Today on Hello, Audio! Helen talks with Constantin, an investment manager at APX, our sister early-stage accelerator. A venture between Axel Springer and Porsche, APX does so much more than simply investing into digital companies. They offer support to them with a full mentoring, learning and networking program, office space and many more resources that come in handy to early-stage companies. Their mentoring scheme connects founders at the beginning of their entrepreneurial journey with experienced entrepreneurs who have built, scaled and maybe even sold a company before. Think you have the potential to be the next big thing in audio tech? Get in touch now and listen on to find out how you could benefit from the APX accelerator.

The use of blockchain as a problem-solver to some of the current issues faced by the music industry is a hot topic. From blockchain-streaming services to the use of smart contracts, everyone wants a piece of what may well revolutionise the music business in the years ahead. Or will it? One key player in this matter caught our eyes for integrating many of these aspects into their open-source, blockchain-driven smart speaker. Volareo joined us for an After Work Session and Helen had a chat with their Head of PR, Magda. Join in as they discuss how well this new technology will work in an industry where songwriters and artists do not always own 100% of their right, thus making the use of blockchain complicated. It’s an exciting conversation, and we can’t wait to see where the future of blockchain and music takes us!

We all have a soundtrack to our memories. Happy time, sad time, coming of age, falling in love, travelling abroad. Have you ever wondered why? Why does music evoke so many different emotions and memories? Studies have found that different parts of the brain are activated while listening to music, they even vary with different genres. However, the limbic system, which is responsible for the processing of emotions, is always addressed. It relates to the same emotions as eating and sex, which is why we feel so comfortable listening to our favorite tunes. Listening to our favorite songs also activates the prefrontal cortex, and its middle part combines music and memories: a switch is turned on while listening to music and we get reminded of special musical moments. Today on Hello, Audio! Helen chats with Jakob and Markus from Groovecat, who have developed an app that allows users to record and save those magic “music moments”. You know, when the track that’s playing in your ears fits perfectly with the scene and the emotion. More than a simple social media app, Groovecat allows users to save the soundtrack of their life and share it with their friends, but also allows for individual tracks to be mapped out with a set of emotion-driven data, making Groovecat a really exciting tool for labels and music controllers alike. Keep listening!

Podcasting is certainly the buzzword on the audio tech and digital marketing scene at the moment. Originating from the US over 10 years ago, the first podcasts were live radio programs rebroadcasted on websites. With technological advancements, people who were not associated with radio stations could start making podcast themselves, and progressively radio blogs became accessible to anyone. Ricky Gervais was one of the first people to really put podcasting on the map: In 2005 “The Ricky Gervais Show” exceeded 4.5 million downloads, earning him even an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records. Podcast has boomed those past few years, especially in Germany, where Podcast had for a long time no more than a shadowy existence. On this episode of “Hello, Audio!” Amelie chats with Jill Beytin, co-founder of Bear Radio, Berlin’s first and currently only English language podcasting network. Some of Bear Radio’s work towards growing the podcasting ecosystem in Berlin includes production of in-house programs, helping companies produce their own audio branded content and teaching workshops. Wondering why you should get on board with podcasting? Listen on.

Welcome to another episode of Hello, Audio! This week, we discuss haptic feedback, wearables in music, starting a hardware company and the future of music tech. Soundbrenner Pulse is a smart vibrating metronome that allows musicians to feel the beat, rather than hear it. Did you know that traditional metronomes can be damaging to your hearing health? Developed by a team of musicians who set up to build something less intrusive, Soundbrenner lets people experience the rhythm in a whole new way. A vibrating metronome has many benefits, as our host Amélie discovers with Alejandro Hernández, Senior Software Engineer at Soundbrenner.

In 2017 the global revenue coming from synchronization licenses of music to film, games and TV has increased by 10% - a trend we hopefully see continuing through 2018 as well. However, substantial collaboration between film and music artists and producers - especially at early project stages - remain exceptions. In this episode of Hello, Audio!, we sit with Matthias Jung from Berlin Music Commission to discuss their work as well as the state of film and music collaboration. With guest appearances from Filmnetzwerk Berlin, FilmTech Office and startup platform Gnarles.

ZEBRALUTION was founded in 2003 as the first digital distributor for independent music labels in Europe. From having ringtones as their main source of revenue (don’t we all remember Crazy Frog!) to providing distribution and marketing services to over 450 music labels and audio publishers from around the world, needless to say ZEBRALUTION has seen it all! In this episode of Hello, Audio!, we sit with Kurt Thielen, Managing Director at ZEBRALUTION to discuss how digital distribution has evolved and changed those past 15 years: from physical sales to download to streaming to branching out to other digital audio products. Grab a cuppa!

Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft’s core mission is to foster cross-sector collaboration in the creative industry in Hamburg. With music at the heart of it, their publicly funded Music WorX Accelerator is aimed at startups and young entrepreneurs in the music industry (our very own startup Groovecat was accelerated there!) to help develop their ideas. Keep listening to discover the other perks of joining the Music WorX accelerator, and stay tuned, as the final pitches will be taking place in November and are open to external teams — with 5000 euros’ worth of prizes for grab!

On our very first episode of Hello, Audio! - The Venue Berlin's very own podcast, Helen chats with Andy and Valerio from Melodrive, one of our resident startups. Melodrive is an AI composer that allows any user - no matter their level of musical skill - to create music for their digital content, simply at the click of a button.