BandLab Technologies is making a bet that the future of AI music runs through consent, not scraping. The Singapore-based company, the outfit behind BandLab, Cakewalk, ReverbNation and Airbit, announced today that it has acquired Aiode, an AI-powered digital music studio that lets creators build tracks using audio-to-audio models trained entirely on licensed material.
What Aiode actually does
Aiode’s pitch is a session player you can summon on demand. Creators start from a blank project or import their own audio, then pick from a roster of musician- and style-based models to perform across a track. Performances can be directed section by section, with alternate takes generated for individual parts without disturbing the rest of the song, and finished work exports as stems or a full mix. It becomes BandLab Technologies’ third creation platform, sitting alongside the mobile-first BandLab and the desktop DAW Cakewalk.
The differentiator BandLab keeps hammering is provenance. The company says 100% of the audio used to train Aiode’s models is licensed and traceable to its source, including recordings made by professional musicians and producers. Models based on individual artists are built with them and under their creative direction, and, per BandLab, those musicians share in the value their work generates.
“What sets Aiode apart is that it was made hand in hand with musicians, who share in the value their work helps create. We believe responsible technology and a product creators actually want to use should go together.”
Drew Silverstein, Senior Advisor for AI, Innovation and Strategy at BandLab Technologies
The timing is pointed. Generative music tools have raced ahead of the licensing questions around them, and several of the biggest names in AI audio are tangled in lawsuits over training data. A platform that can credibly say every sample was cleared is as much a legal position as a product feature, and a hedge as rightsholders and regulators circle the space.
Whether “licensed and traceable” holds up under real scrutiny is the open question. Artists have heard reassurances before, and the specifics of how model revenue gets split were not spelled out. For now, Aiode will keep running as a standalone product with no interruption for existing users, and co-founders Idan Dobrecki and Blue Dobrecky stay on as CEO and COO respectively. Native audio recording and fuller DAW features are promised for later releases. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
