Photo Credit: Igor Omilaev
AI music-remix startup Hook has reportedly raised $3 million from backers including Edgar Bronfman Jr.-founded Waverley Capital.
Word of New York City-headquartered Hook’s multimillion-dollar seed round emerged in a recent report from TechCrunch. Established by former JioSaavn chief operating officer Gaurav Sharma, the tech company says it’s developed a suite of AI tools with which “anyone” can “make remixed versions of their favorite songs in just a few seconds.”
Reportedly set to launch a private beta in November ahead of a public rollout sometime during 2024, Hook has also attracted financial support from Steve Cohen’s Point72 Ventures. The latter is said to have led the seed raise alongside former Warner Music CEO Bronfman Jr.’s initially mentioned Waverley Capital.
Other Hook backers include Mark Gillespie-founded management company Three Six Zero and Japan-based Avex, per the aforesaid source. Interestingly, Gaurav Sharma, previously an A&R market-research higher-up with Sony Music’s Columbia Records, has framed Hook “‘as a value proposition to the content owners and labels.’”
The platform, which counts as chief product officer former Spotify podcast exec Simmi Singh, will function “‘almost like a content management system’” and prioritize “‘a strong commitment to solving attribution and compensation problems,’” Sharma communicated.
Bearing in mind the points, Hook users will be able to remix up to 60-second song snippets with AI and then share the works on “popular” social networks, according to TechCrunch. However, the ability to export the auto-generated derivative creations as MP3s isn’t currently on the table, Sharma emphasized.
Worth highlighting, given Hook’s focus on shorter exportable remixes and several execs’ experience at Mumbai-based JioSaavn, is that video-sharing apps are still popular in India despite the full-scale TikTok ban that the nation of over 1.4 billion implemented in 2020.
Snapchat revealed in May that it had topped 200 million monthly active users in India, which likewise boasts a quick-expanding music industry, for instance. And short-form service Moj, developed specifically for the Indian market by Bangalore-based ShareChat, boasts north of 100 million Play Store downloads, the appropriate page shows. (Notwithstanding the stats and the relevant C-suite experience, Hook will be hunting for results in multiple nations.)
Of course, Hook’s successful seed round – and plans to make authorized, trackable remixes the norm – has arrived as billions are continuing to reach the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence space.
In and around the music sphere, late August saw AI music-marketing startup Symphony unveil a $1 million raise, whereas creator community platform Afterparty last month announced a $5 million round and disclosed plans to embrace AI messaging.
Meanwhile, concerns surrounding the unprecedented technology – including the protected media upon which generative models are trained and the works that they’re putting out – remain prevalent.