Sean Parker, co-founder of Napster, is rebuilding Stability AI with a stronger focus on music, as the artificial intelligence company shifts its attention toward developing tools for music professionals.
Parker joined an $80 million rescue of Stability AI two years ago, when the image-generation startup was facing financial and internal challenges that eventually led to the departure of founder Emad Mostaque. Parker has since worked with his longtime friend Prem Akkaraju, who became CEO of Stability AI, on reshaping the company’s direction.
The company’s new strategy centres on making Stability AI a provider of AI tools for music professionals. The shift comes as the company expands its work beyond image generation and develops products specifically for music creation and editing.
In late August, Stability AI announced $76 million in funding from investors including Sony, Warner and Universal. As part of the deal, the three music companies also licensed their catalogues to Stability AI for training its models.
Following the funding, Stability AI has released three new audio models along with AI music-editing software. The company’s technology can generate complete instrumental tracks or shorter musical snippets based on text prompts.
The company is also working on additional capabilities for its AI music tools. Parker said an upcoming update will allow users to guide music generation by humming a melody or beatboxing a drum pattern.
The focus on music represents a significant change in direction for Stability AI, which became widely known for its Stable Diffusion image-generation technology. The company is now seeking to build AI products aimed specifically at professionals working in the music industry.
The involvement of Sony, Warner and Universal also gives Stability AI access to licensed music catalogues for model training. The partnerships form part of the company’s effort to develop AI music technology while working with major music companies.
Parker’s return to the music industry comes years after his involvement with Napster, the file-sharing service that played a major role in changing how digital music was distributed. He has previously acknowledged that his approach with Napster involved asking for forgiveness rather than permission.
With Parker and Akkaraju leading the company’s new direction, Stability AI is now building its strategy around AI-powered music creation, editing and professional tools. The company’s latest funding and partnerships with major music groups mark the next stage of its focus on the music sector.
