Bytedance Has Reportedly Acquired UK Music AI Startup, Jukedeck

Bytedance has acquired Jukedeck, a startup in the UK which enables users to create music generated by artificial intelligence (AI), TechCrunch reported.

Why it matters: Jukedeck’s technologies could bolster Bytedance’s music-themed short video app Douyin and its overseas version TikTok. It could also potentially alleviate the pressure from music labels that have been demanding higher royalties from Bytedance.

  • Jukedeck could automatically generate music and then let users customize the tempo, length, and climax, The Verge reported.

Details: Jukedeck’s founder and CEO Ed Newtown-Rex recently updated his LinkedIn profile, stating that he has been working as the director of Bytedance’s AI Lab in London since April 2019. Several of his colleagues, including two former senior software engineers and three machine learning researchers, have also changed their LinkedIn profile to say that they are working at Bytedance’s AI Lab.

  • Jukedeck’s website is now offline and replaced with a message saying “We can’t tell you more just yet, but we’re looking forward to continuing to fuel creativity using musical AI!”

– This article originally appeared on TechNode.