Chinese Tech Giant Enters AI Music Streaming

Chinese tech giant Kunlun Tech, valued at $4.8 billion, has launched Melodio, a new AI-powered music streaming service.

This service offers personalized music streams that adapt to user moods and activities.

Kunlun, the parent company of Opera and a former investor in Musical.ly, has been steadily expanding its reach in the AI space. With an active user base nearing 400 million, the company is making bold moves in AI-generated content.

By 2023, Kunlun Tech had expanded its global reach to over 100 countries, with nearly 400 million monthly active users across various sectors like AGI, AIGC, content distribution, metaverse, social entertainment, and gaming. 

Mureka: AI Music Platform

In addition to Melodio, Kunlun has introduced Mureka, an AI music creation platform. Mureka allows users to craft and monetize their AI-generated music, offering tools to fine-tune every aspect of a song.

Users can even sell their creations via the Mureka Store, opening new business opportunities in AI-generated content.

Both Melodio and Mureka are powered by Kunlun’s SkyMusic 2.0, an advanced AI model that can generate continuous music streams in various styles. This model supports multiple languages and can process complex lyrics, making it a versatile tool in AI music generation.

Kunlun claims SkyMusic 2.0 is the first commercial-grade AI music model in China, with capabilities that include lyric generation from text and melodies.

Music Industry Response

The music industry is likely to monitor Kunlun's AI platforms closely, especially after recent lawsuits against AI music startups like Suno and Udio. These companies were sued for allegedly using copyrighted recordings without permission, sparking legal debates over AI training data and fair use.

Kunlun has not disclosed the specific data used to train SkyMusic 2.0, which might raise concerns among music rightsholders.

Hold on to your butts because Melodio and Mureka platforms are now available globally.

Statista reports that the global music streaming sector achieved a revenue of $19.3 billion in 2023. On Spotify, almost half of the users have engaged with playlists categorized by mood, reflecting a significant interest in music tailored for specific scenarios - which is what AI generated content can offer.