Melomics
 | |
 Melomics landing page as of January 2013 | |
| Type of business | University spin-off |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Founded | 2012 |
| No. of locations |
|
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Founder(s) | Francisco J. Vico |
| Industry | Music |
| Services |
|
| Employees | 30 |
| URL | Melomics.com |
| Advertising | Native advertising |
| Registration | Optional (required to buy music) |
| Launched | July 2012 |
| Current status | Active |
Melomics (derived from the genomics of melodies) is a propietary computational system for the automatic (without human intervention) composition of music, based on bioinspired methods and commercialized by Melomics Media.[1]
Technological aspects
Melomics applies an evolutionary approach to music composition, i.e., music pieces are obtained by simulated evolution. These themes compete to better adapt to a proper fitness function, generally grounded on formal and aesthetic criteria. The Melomics system encodes each theme in a genome, and the entire population of music pieces undergoes evo-devo dynamics (i.e., pieces read-out mimicking a complex embryological development process).[2][3] The system is fully autnomous: once programmed, it composes music without human intervention.
This technology has been transferred to industry as an academic spin-off, Melomics Media, which has provided and reprogrammed a new computer cluster that created a huge collection of popular music. The results of this evolutionary computation are being stored in Melomics' site,[4] which nowadays constitutes a vast repository of music content. A differentiating feature is that pieces are available in three types of formats: playable (MP3), editable (MIDI and MusicXML) and readable (score in PDF).
Computer Clusters
The Melomics computational system includes two computer clusters: Melomics109 and Iamus, dedicated to popular and artistic music, respectively.
Melomics109: The Largest Repository of Popular Music
Melomics109 is a cluster programmed and integrated in the Melomics system.[5] Its first product is a vast repository of popular music compositions (roughly 1 billion), covering all essential styles. This repository might be disruptive for the music industry,[6] since:
- in addition to MP3, all songs are available in editable and readable formats (MIDI, MusicXML and score in PDF);[7]
- the buyer becomes the owner of the song, as all rights are transferred from Melomics Media;[1][6] and
- music is offered as a commodity (retailing for $0.99/kB of its MIDI representation).[5][6]
It has been argued that Melomics Media, by making such amount of editable, original and royalty-free music accessible to people, may change the way music is composed and consumed in the future.[1][6][7]
Iamus: First album of Professional Contemporary Music by a Non-human Intelligence
In the first stages of the development of the Melomics system, Iamus composed Opus one (on October 15, 2010), arguably the first fragment of professional contemporary classical music ever composed by a computer in its own style, rather than attempting to emulate the style of existing composers (as was previously done by others, principally as David Cope). The first full composition (also in contemporary classic style), Hello World!, premiered exactly one year after the creation of Opus one, on October 15, 2011. Four later works premiered on July 2, 2012, and were broadcast live[8] from the School of Computer Science at Universidad de Málaga[9] as part of the events included in the Alan Turing year. The compositions performed at this event were later recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra, creating Iamus’ eponymous first album, which New Scientist reported as the "first complete album to be composed solely by a computer and recorded by human musicians."[10]
Commenting on the quality and authenticity of the music, Stephen Smoliar, critic of classical music at The San Francisco Examiner, commented "What is primary is the act of making the music itself engaged by the performers and how the listener responds to what those performers do... what is most interesting about the documents generated by Iamus is their capacity to challenge the creative talents of performing musicians".[11]
External links
References
- ^ a b c Smith, Sylvia (3 January 2013). "Iamus: Is this the 21st century's answer to Mozart?". BBC News Technology.
- ^ Stieler, Wolfgang (2012). "Die Mozart-Maschine". Technology Review (Germany). December: 26–35.
- ^ Ball, Philip (2012). "Algorithmic Rapture". Nature. 188: 456.
- ^ "Melomics.com". Retrieved 6 December 2011.
- ^ a b Lenhart, Christian (13 January 2013). "Die Mozart-Maschine". taz.de.
- ^ a b c d Bosker, Bianca (13 January 2013). "Life As Francisco Vico, Creator Of The Incredible Computer-Composer Iamus". The Huffington Post.
- ^ a b Peckham, Matt (4 January 2013). "Finally, a computer that writes contemporary music without human help". Time Magazine.
- ^ Ball, Philip (1 July 2012). "Iamus, classical music's computer composer, live from Malaga". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
- ^ School of Computer Science (University of Malaga - Spain) (2012-07-02). "Can machines be creative? (live from Malaga)". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
- ^ "Computer composer honours Turing's centenary". New Scientist. 5 July 2012.
{{cite journal}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|journal=(help) - ^ Smoliar, Stephen (4 January 2013). "Thoughts about Iamus and the composition of music by computer". The Examiner.
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