Music innovation hub, so Italy leads the first European accelerator of startups

London, West Ham, Abba Arena, They line up behind a group of seventy-year-old Englishmen dressed as flower children who sing and dance with their children. we are all going “Abba Hologram Concert”, practically a computer that sings, but the sensation is not that. The climate and anticipation are typical of a real concert. Technology has long entered the music business with force, Digital first destroyed the market and then started it again Global trade volume is projected to double from 70 to 150 billion dollars for 2030, thanks above all to the growth of streaming (1.2 billion subscribers expected by 2030 with 20% penetration of the smartphone fleet). only one during the pandemic Spotify had a market capitalization of around $60 billion: a company that until the day before yesterday was losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year, was worth roughly the same as the three major record companies.

Music Innovation Hub intends to position itself as a national reference of music technology

, or the business sector that links technological innovation and music. An area of ​​potential growth and continued fermentation within the music ecosystem: from new official opportunities Through artificial intelligence, all immersive sound productions (Dolby Atmos), for new systems of Digital Promotion for Artists and Labelsfor distribution through stream or live streamfor the new platform of crowdfunding royalties that use blockchain technology. but also its technical applications listening training supportattention deficit treatment or a inclusion projects, oh yes because there is also a “good” technologyWhich respects copyright and creates social value.

In Music Innovation Hub we are trying since 2018 Encourage the Italian music industry to innovate in a sustainable wayConstantly comparing itself with other European centers of research and musical innovation. At our headquarters in Milan we made Capsule, the place to experience immersive sound, A highly technical space that – through sophisticated software – allows each sound to be directed independently live to a system of 36 speakers. But the “capsule” it’s also a recording studioa rehearsal room and a The place where you can broadcast live streaming artist show houseAs we did during the first pandemic as well.

More recently, thanks to the promotion and international networking carried out by Dino Lupelli and Anna Zoe, the Music Innovation Hub has played a role inLeadership role in the three-year Music Tech Europe Academy program, the first European accelerator of music-technology startups, whose launch is directly funded by the European Commission (the first call will be publicized in September 2023). A matter of pride for us and for our country, which in the past has often been a driving force on issues of digital innovation.
naturally, our being a social enterprise

, we will select startups not only on the basis of economic returns, but also on the basis of their ability to generate value for the stakeholders. It would be particularly interesting to understand Impact that can be generated on the music ecosystem from artificial intelligence applications. especially after the controversy that arose after its publication heart on my sleeveSong “Like Drake – The Weeknd” Custom made by AI and which reached 11 million plays before being pulled from the streaming platform.

Case needs focus Better control the risk of plagiarism, sharpening international rules to protect copyright, still madly chasing technological advances (incidentally: in the dispute between Meta and Sia these days it was clear who to root for). But generative AI, once artists’ rights are protected, can represent a powerful tool for writers and composers open to innovation and for artists and producers Innovative experience of cooperation between man and technology

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And from here we return to London. I have left the Abba Arena very satisfied. a successful digital hybridization experiment: promotion of a «teaser» concert (video shooting is strictly prohibited), creation of a iconic story public engagement around the group, as a fundamental part of the show, Immersive technologies of sound and light one in venue One of a kind, happy interaction between the real (the band) and the virtual (holograms of all four).
In short, I didn’t go to clap for the carBut I participated in an experience where Human intelligence has creatively harnessed the potential of technologycreate economic value and new royalties For writers and producers. It doesn’t have any message; path to music rehabilitation after the pandemic it’s definitely hybrid,

* President of Music Innovation Hub