I first came up with the idea of aMUZE in 2015 while watching AI take off. I thought music composition would eventually become democratized: anyone would be able to create original music from a simple whistle or hum.
AI would take on the heavy lifting of writing lyrics, creating artwork, and composing the music itself. The human contribution would become taste, direction, and the first spark.
For my research I built an illustrative chart showing the evolution of music creation, from primitive rhythm-making to notation, cheaper instruments, digital tools, and eventually smartphones capable of replacing a studio.
One might argue that the ratio of composers has not changed, only the population. I think every person hides an artist inside them, and with AI many of those latent artists will come to life.
The skill requirement for creating music will drop to having one simple rough musical idea. Professional musicians are being challenged by hobbyists already, and AI can help raise quality rather than dilute it.
When AI makes it possible for everyone to create art and songs, we will see an explosion of personal styles. Your art becomes part of your identity, a way for friends to understand something about you that words cannot express.
The iOS prototype won $150,000 in Switzerland in September 2022. That summer before the final presentation was demanding, but the work paid off.
