#TheWeeklyRoundUp - 12.05.23

Google Opens Up AI Text-to-Music Generator MusicLM — Just Don’t Ask It to Mimic Popular Artists (digital music news)

About four months after unveiling its text-to-music generator, MusicLM, Google has officially opened up access to the AI-powered tool.

Google announced the expanded availability of MusicLM (and disclosed details about how users will test and improve the AI offering) via a brief message. Interested individuals can now join a waitlist to try out MusicLM (on the web as well as iOS and Android devices) through the overarching AI Test Kitchen.

Meanwhile, those who have already gained access to the music generator are taking to YouTube and social media to chart their experiences. “Be very descriptive,” recommends MusicLM’s instructions on creating a “good prompt” for the AI, which is currently pumping out two song snippets for each of these prompts and then asking users to identify the better option.

Predictably, the debuting tool isn’t without hiccups – one YouTuber’s prompt for music containing “African bongos with an Irish fiddle” was met with an error message – but early evidence suggests that the resulting vocals-free audio largely aligns with user inputs.

Building upon the absence of vocals in MusicLM creations and the wider issue of unauthorized artificial intelligence tracks, Google wrote on the AI platform’s main page that “certain queries” will be rejected at once. “MusicLM is an experimental technology that allows you to generate your own synthetic music for inspiration,” the appropriate text reads. “Certain queries that mention specific artists or include vocals will not be generated.”

The latter restriction appears rather stringent, as MusicLM rejects requests not only for Katy Perry soundalike works, but for “classical music like Mozart” as well as prompts involving any individuals at all (but not protected media like Star Wars), test video shows. Additionally, users can download MP3s of MusicLM songs, though it seems that the resulting (mono) audio clips are each just 20 seconds long and have a 24,000 Hz sample rate at present.

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'Welcome to DJ Tira's World': The musician launches online content portal (News24) Hot on the heels of his double win at the recently held Metro FM Music Awards (MMA23), DJ Tira has launched his online content portal. He shared the news on social media, saying, "DJ TIRA World is officially launched". "We have created an exclusive content portal made just for you where you can access all my videos, songs, social updates, gigs and competitions all from my very own portal," he continued. According to one of the videos in the post, subscribers can also look forward to exclusive behind-the-scenes content from performances, family time and more. "Welcome to DJ Tira's World, where you get to see exclusive content by DJ Tira for only R3 per day," he said in another video. At the MMA23 ceremony, Tira scooped awards for Best Kwaito/Gqom Song and Best Male Video for Sikilidi. In December, the award-winning musician added his name to the list of local entertainers who have ventured into the alcohol business by introducing his own beverage, Bearings Cyder.