SoundCloud buys AI that claims to predict hit songs

SoundCloud has acquired audio AI company Musiio, which makes tech that can “listen” to new music and purportedly identify the hits. The acquisition, announced Tuesday, is meant to help SoundCloud sort through its immense library of amateur music and will “become core to SoundCloud’s discovery experience,” the company said in a statement.

As DIY music distribution platforms like SoundCloud lower the barrier to entry for amateur artists and flood platforms with new music, identifying and promoting the good stuff has become even more challenging. SoundCloud claims that Musiio’s tools can quickly sift through countless hours of (mostly bad) music and pick out the songs that have patterns and characteristics that correlate with chart-toppers.

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