Timbaland has declared that he is now collaborating with artificial intelligence (AI) musicians who aren’t genuine.
As a result of his experiments with the AI program Sono, the legendary producer founded Stage Zero, an entertainment firm focusing on artificial intelligence.
Timbo has announced that TaTa, the company’s first AI artist, has joined the team.
He explained to Billboard how the songs for the AI artist are created by entering demos into Suno, which then transforms them into voices and melodies without the use of real singers or musicians, and asserted that this will result in the creation of a new musical genre known as “A-pop.”
He said: “I’m not just producing tracks anymore. I’m producing systems, stories, and stars from scratch. [TaTa] is not an avatar. She is not a character. TaTa is a living, learning, autonomous music artist built with AI. TaTa is the start of something bigger. She’s the first artist of a new generation. A-Pop is the next cultural evolution, and TaTa is its first icon.”
Timbo added: “The technology of today is perfect for what this is. What used to take me three months only takes me two days. In the beginning, it was like a toy. It was like going to a toy store. You gotta go through gluttony, because you can’t believe that it’s here.”
Timbaland did not reveal when TaTa’s first single will be released but he and Stage Zero have released an image of a young, pink-haired woman they claim is the singer.
Timbaland has previously spoken out in support of AI which has largely been criticized across the music industry and has also led to Suno being sued.
He said on The Inner Court: “This election just divided us. What I mean by that – it divided the music. It sound bland, it sound boring. We talk about AI, but shit, that’s the only thing that has a pure soul right now that you could create something and express your true feelings and it comes out beautiful.”
He continued: “But I just feel like right now everything is just discombobulated. Which aligns with everything in the world.”