How will AI impact the future of music creativity for better or worse? Squeak E.Clean executive creative director, Rob Barbato is one of the music industry leaders discussing how the industry has toed the line between friend and foe when it comes to AI for music. AI is a dilemma for everyone, an invaluable tool with powers to corrupt. In music it can allow for further democratisation of entry for artists, but can be a danger for existing artists regarding the safety of their existing IP.
Barbato will be joined by, Daniel Astey, entertainment and IP lawyer at Simpsons Solicitors; Rupert Manfredi, programmer, designer and musician at Adept; and Sally Coleman, musician & creative director, Big Sand, on Friday, October 20.
Here’s what Squeak E.Clean Studios told The Stable about the event:
The Stable: Why did you choose to present a panel at SXSW?
SXSW operates at the intersection of music, technology and entertainment, which are the spheres that our team is innovating within. With Sydney being the first global expansion of the SXSW brand, it felt serendipitous and a natural connection of how we work daily between our Australian and US teams.
The Stable: How much and in what ways has AI come into how Squeak E.Clean works and what it offers. What has it opened up for you?
In advertising and media, staying at the forefront of technology is essential when it comes to remaining relevant and keeping up with the exponential growth in demand for fresh content. We have continually embraced the industry with a watchful eye toward innovation. In 2022, we made a strategic partnership with AI-powered music creation platform Soundful.We feel that being directly involved with this kind of innovation in our industry is essential to being able to best optimize it towards the needs of our clients, artists and producers.
The Stable: Please tell me about Rob Barbato and what it means to have him come to Australia as a presenter
Rob Barbato is a composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, who has toured and recorded as a sideman of singer-songwriter, Cass McCombs, as well as being a member of the UK post-punk band The Fall. His commercial portfolio includes original compositions for Apple, Lexus, Nike, BMW, Squarespace, and Audi. He has also produced records for artists such as Kevin Morby, Vivian Girls and Bleached, and composed music for feature length films, such as Montana Story (2021), and Pinball: The Man Who Saved The Game (2022). In 2021, he collaborated with Katie Crutchfield, aka Waxahatchee, on the music for the adaptation of Cece Bell’s graphic novel, El Deafo for Apple TV +.
Barbato is a native of Austin, Texas, where SXSW has called home since 1987. He has been involved with the evolution of the festival and conference for 20 years, so having him represent our global team at the inaugural Sydney event was a no brainer.
For the last decade we’ve been using the Machine Learning functions within the various iZotope plugins. We have also been using recent AI tools to separate out stems and vocals from stereo audio files. We work with Soulful to create Generative AI to support the composition process when an AI solution is required to meet production demand or new technology creative concepts. We’ve also been exploring automating our music catalogue with CYANITE to streamline and speed up our tagging, searching and metadata process for client-facing music solutions.
