VERSED: The ASCAP Podcast / Ep. 40 - The ASCAP Lab Gets Down to Business with AI

October 24, 2024

LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE

versed-landing
versed-landing
versed-landing
 

VERSED is a monthly podcast illuminating the heart and soul of music. Featuring in-depth interviews with songwriters and composers, plus tips and insights to help you navigate your music career. Brought to you by ASCAP, home of the world's greatest music creators.

The ASCAP Lab is ASCAP’s innovation initiative, where the organization experiments to create the ASCAP of the next 100 years. Its mission is to explore advanced technologies, new business approaches and creative collaborations with the intent to foster and expand new ways to serve and support ASCAP members – all part of our commitment to being “creator first, future forward.”

 

One way it is achieving this goal is with the ASCAP Lab Challenge. Launched in 2020, this annual innovation accelerator program, operated in partnership with the NYC Media Lab led by the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, provides selected startups and university teams with mentorship and small grants to develop and expand upon their emerging technologies during a 12-week program. The ASCAP Lab works closely with each selected team to optimize their strategies and product offerings for the music creator community.

The 2024 program, dubbed the AI and the Business of Music Challenge, brought together ASCAP’s senior strategy, operations, and legal experts; key ASCAP writer, composer, and publisher members; and five of the most promising music tech entrepreneurs and early-stage startups in an effort to shape how AI tools can benefit music creators. 

In this episode you’ll meet the five teams - CRESQA, Music Tomorrow, RoEx, Soundsafe.ai and Wavelets AI, and ASCAP composer member Gregg Lehrman (trailers for Avatar, Inglourious Basterds) who is also a startup founder (Output) and participated in the Challenge as a mentor to learn more about their experience and their unique contributions.

+ Find out what else is cooking at the ASCAP Lab

VERSED: ASCAP Lab Gets Down to Business with AI

Meet the Five Teams Participating in the "AI and the Business of Music" Startup Challenge


CRESQA
An AI social media content assistant designed for songwriters and musicians that automates the process of social media strategy development and helps generate fully personalized post ideas and schedules for TikTok, Instagram, YouTube Shorts, Facebook and more. 

Learn more

MUSIC TOMORROW
Analytics tools that monitor and boost artists’ algorithmic performance on streaming platforms, using AI for advanced audience insights and automation that improve an artist's content discoverability, listener engagement and team efficiency.

Learn more

ROEX
AI-driven tools for multitrack mixing, mastering, audio cleanup and quality control, designed to streamline and enhance the last steps of the creative process by delivering a professional and balanced mix with ease.

Learn more

SOUNDSAFE.AI
Robust, state-of-the-art audio watermarking using AI to enhance security, reporting and the detection of real-time piracy and/or audio deepfakes.

Learn more

WAVELETS AI
Tools for artists, labels, copyright holders, content distributors and DSPs that help reduce IP infringement by detecting AI vocals in music.

Visit them on the web

EP. 40 SPECIAL GUEST: GREGG LEHRMAN

Joe Block

Born and raised in New York, Gregg Lehrman moved to Los Angeles after graduating Cornell University '02 to work under the guidance of award-winning composer Hans Zimmer. After getting his feet wet assisting on Matchstick Men and The Last Samurai, Lehrman moved to Jeff Rona’s Silkscreen Music and worked up the ranks to writer and Creative Director. Between Rona’s music and his background as a technologist, Gregg found in Jeff a mentor willing to push the envelope. Together they launched a publishing catalog through EMI, worked on series for Showtime (Brotherhood) and ESPN (SportsCentury) and crafted sound libraries sold at every Apple store worldwide.

In 2006, Lehrman left to become the youngest Executive Producer at Universal Music Publishing, overseeing production for their film/TV catalogs. Hired for having his ears to the ground, Gregg collaborated with artists to create music for TV behemoths… Fox Sports, CNN, Oprah, Discovery, ESPN, etc. Also signed as a writer, Lehrman moonlighted as the sole composer and producer of his own production company, The Brewery. In 2009, the expanding volume of work pushed Gregg to focus on his own production company full time. The Brewery now has over 300 credits that include major TV shows, films, video games, software and toys.

In 2013 – after two grueling years of development – Lehrman expanded and launched Output, Inc., a music software company. Focused on creative tools for music makers, Output hit the spotlight when it beat out 21,000 other companies as Huffington Post’s Build a Business winner. With worldwide distribution in place (Guitar Center, Crypton, etc.) Output is growing and rapidly becoming a staple in the music world.

+ Visit Gregg Lehrman on the web

+ Read more about Output at outputsounds.com

 

How ASCAP Is Helping Music Creators Navigate AI

Mama, I'm going home.