AI – music to my ears… or not?

Ha Jiang

Ha Jiang, is a virtual online idol, and only exists online.

Ha Jiang signed a record deal with Whet Records, Warner Music Group’s pan-Asian dance label in China, in 2021. Ha Jiang is the first virtual idol to conduct a record deal with a major label. The virtual idol uses AI technology to create music and has become an online sensation in Asia.

Ha Jiang online music avatar. She is a virtual artist who uses artificial intelligence to create music

Virtual AI artist

Ha Jiang is a virtual artist who uses artificial intelligence to create music. She is the first virtual idol to sign a record deal with a major label, Whet Records, which is Warner Music Group’s pan-Asian dance label in China. My understanding is that the music was composed by humans, so not entirely AI generated then.

Would this also work in west – is it time to be concerned?

She already has more than 100,000 followers in China and is known for her sense of style and fashion. She is also a social influencer who has been hired by the city of Shanghai to promote safe driving. Ha Jiang is not a real person, but a computer-generated avatar who only exists online. She is part of a growing phenomenon of virtual idols in Asia, especially among Gen-Z fans.

Endel, is a sound startup company that uses artificial intelligence to create personalized audio tracks. Endel was the first to sign a record deal with Warner Music Group in 2019 to release 20 albums of ambient music.

Meta (Facebook) Posts Strong Wall Street Gain in 2023 – its year of efficiency

UK taxes high!

Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: META), formerly known as Facebook, has seen its stock price soar in 2023, a straight nine month gain in a massive turnaround after a dismal performance in 2022. 

Meta is the parent company of social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, as well as the Oculus VR headset and other ventures.

Year of efficiency

Meta’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has declared 2023 as the ‘Year of Efficiency‘ for the company, as it tries to cut costs and streamline its operations. The company has also announced layoffs of about 10% of its workforce in 2022 and 2023, as part of its restructuring efforts.

Meta’s stock has almost doubled since January, making it among the top performers on the S&P 500. The company has also seen a boost in the number of daily active users on Facebook, reaching two billion as of the end of December 2022. Meta’s net worth is currently at $89.9 billion, making Zuckerberg the 12th wealthiest person on the planet, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index.

Surge

Meta’s stock surge comes after a sharp decline in 2022, when the company faced regulatory scrutiny, public backlash and technical glitches over its plans to expand into the metaverse, a virtual reality world where people can interact with each other and through digital content. 

Meta’s stock plummeted by over 60% last year, as Zuckerberg struggled to sell Wall Street on his vision for the future of social media.

Future

Meta is still betting on the metaverse as its long-term goal, and has been investing heavily in AI, VR and AR technologies. The company is reportedly working on a new social media app called ‘Instagram for your thoughts‘, which would allow users to share their thoughts and emotions using brain-computer interfaces. 

The app could launch as soon as next month, according to latest reports.

The metaverse is coming!