The biggest AI-music startups are based in the US, while there are plenty of innovative firms launching out of Europe and Asia. But Africa, too, has an emerging AI ecosystem.
Korin AI is a good example. While its website is currently in a holding pattern ahead of its ‘Korin 2.0’ upgrade launch next week, news site OkayAfrica has a good interview with the startup’s founder Philip Olajide-Philips explaining what it’s up to.
“Most of the AI music tools out there were built for the Western world,” he said. “If you put Yoruba or Zulu lyrics into them, they’ll sing the words, but they pronounce them like British or American English.”
“With Korin, the goal is that it sounds like an African voice in your own language, not like a foreign singer reading your words.”
Korin AI has started in Nigeria and is expanding out to other countries and languages. The company is also focusing on its ethics from day one in terms of training.
“Those guys abroad, they just scrape the internet for data and don’t pay people. We don’t want to do that,” said Olajide-Philips. Korin AI is licensing music from production firms in Nigeria, as well as paying singers to record their voices.
“In every case, it’s consented and clearly agreed… It’s not about scraping and hoping no one notices,” he said.
