This week on the podcast, Mike has two wonderful conversations that both touch on the intersection of technology and songwriting, though in very different ways.
First up, is a chat with Olga Vechtomova, a professor and researcher in the University of Waterloo’s Natural Language Processing Lab, who led a team that created LyricJam. It’s a real-time system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to generate lyric lines for live instrumental music. Olga reveals how and why LyricJam was created, the potential for AI to both create music and be an aide to human music creators, and a bunch more.
Then, the second interview is with John Williamson, the CEO and Co-founder of a company and online platform for personalized songs called Songfinch. The platform connects customers with songwriters to create personalized songs that mark an occasion, from a birthday or wedding anniversary, to even a breakup. John himself has had a very interesting career that spans the DIY indie music scene, working in music placements for Coca-Cola, and co-founding a once highly-publicized B2B sync licensing company. John tells his unique music industry story, and how those past lessons led to the creation of Songfinch. He then breaks down how the company works, how their songwriters operate, how the money is split, and a lot more.
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