As more music streaming apps and creation tools emerge, vying for users' attention, social music sharing app Popster is introducing two new features to expand its user base: an AI image generator for cover art and a collaboration feature that lets artists remix other users' songs.
Popster, which was first released last year as a song-making tool and music video platform, allows artists to connect with other musicians, create original songs and music videos, and share them on social media. Users can record video and audio directly within the app, and add stickers and colored backgrounds. The app also offers a selection of vocal effects (developed in-house) and a community section where artists can interact with each other.
The app, unsurprisingly, has also jumped on the generative AI bandwagon, offering ways for artists to generate lyric ideas or create new beats and record vocals over them, for example. (Popster also uses AI tech to enhance audio when there's background noise.)
Image credit: Popster
One notable AI-powered tool is the “Add Beat” feature. Powered by OpenAI, this feature allows users to create a backing track by selecting a genre (Lofi Hip Hop, R&B, Indie Pop, Slow Ballad, etc.) and a mood like “Smooth” or “Normal,” and then the singer can add their own voice recording on top of it.
Popster trains its models using the Mubert library of royalty-free pre-made tracks, setting it apart from AI music apps Udio and Suno, which recently faced lawsuits for using copyrighted music without permission.
“The problem with AI today is that it has no concept of creativity because a lot of people are creating songs by learning from original songs, and they don't know who the original author is,” co-founder and CEO Themis Draconakis told TechCrunch. “If you put AI next to the artist as a creative partner, [different sounds]Unleash your ideas and take your creativity to new levels.”
Image credit: Popster
Popster's new artwork generator, “Albums,” is the latest addition to the company's generative AI tools, all of which are powered by OpenAI. In addition to being able to record and upload videos, Popster now allows artists to input prompts to generate images that can be displayed like a sticker overlay on top of the artist's short videos, adding an extra layer of sophistication for up-and-coming artists looking to introduce their new music to the world.
Another new feature on Popster appears to be a take on TikTok's “Stitch” and “Duet” tools. Artists frequently use these tools to combine their videos with other creators, adding vocals, harmonizing, or playing instruments. Popster's new “Mashup” feature allows artists to create remixes and collaborate with other artists. Users can now click a “Mashup” button underneath someone else's video and record their own video. The recorded videos will then appear side-by-side.
Popster co-founders Themis Drakonakis (left) and Sotiris Kaniras (right) Image courtesy of Popster
Popster is still in its early stages, with only a few thousand users. But Popster's newest feature might be just what it needs to attract more users. So far, about 10,000 original songs have been created on the app. Drakonakis says users spend an average of 1.5 hours a day on the app.
The startup was co-founded by Draconakis and Sotiris Kanilas (CTO), who have developed three apps so far: anonymous chat app Nup, location-based photo-sharing app Self'it, and collaboration app for university students UniPad.
Popster has raised $280,000 from Realize Tech Fund and is currently in the midst of a pre-seed funding round. The funding will help the company expand its team and strengthen its video servers. Other future plans include introducing paid features and partnering with music labels.
The app can be downloaded from the App Store.