At A Glance
- AI sound wellness company, Endel, is partnering with Universal Music Group (UMG) to create science-backed, AI-powered soundscapes for enhancing wellness in daily activities such as sleep, relaxation, and focus.
- Artists under UMG can use Endel’s proprietary AI technology to create new music and rework existing catalog music into functional soundscapes.
- This partnership aims to respect artist rights and use ethical AI technology to expand and reimagine music offerings for listeners’ wellbeing.
In a breakthrough development for music and AI technology, Endel, a company specializing in sound wellness, has announced a strategic partnership with Universal Music Group (UMG). This relationship is a first of its kind, designed to allow UMG artists to create AI-driven soundscapes for daily activities like sleep, relaxation, and focus. The companies will leverage Endel’s proprietary AI technology, offering science-backed soundscapes that enhance listeners’ wellness.
The creative process will center on the artists, respecting their rights while allowing them to work with new versions of their catalog music and create fresh offerings. UMG’s forthcoming announcement of the initial wave of soundscapes under this agreement promises a new era of wellness-centered music. The collaboration follows Endel’s previous work with UMG’s Republic Records artist James Blake, whose ambient “Wind Down” soundscape, released as an album in May 2022, has been widely acclaimed.
Michael Nash, EVP, Chief Digital Officer at UMG, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, recognizing Endel’s effective use of ethical AI to support and enhance artist creativity. Nash believes in the vast potential of AI as a tool, and sees this partnership as a way to create new music soundscapes that enhance audience wellness while respecting artists’ rights.
Endel CEO Oleg Stavitsky shared a similar sentiment, emphasizing the company’s artist- and human-centric approach. Stavitsky believes in the potential of AI as a tool to enhance human focus, relaxation, and sleep, and sees this collaboration as a means to address people’s concerns about AI while promoting wellness.
The science-backed soundscapes by Endel are designed to enhance various daily activities. They create these soundscapes using artist-provided stems, which are then informed by scientific insights about the effects of music on our minds. This allows artists and rights holders to generate additional revenue for their catalogs, expand their work into new areas, and aspire to support wellness for the listener. The partnership promises to deliver a unique listening experience that enriches and optimizes daily routines, underscoring the increasing importance of functional music in the global music scene.
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
