Jukedeck was set up by Ed Rex and Patrick Stobbs, two University of Cambridge graduates, to allow anyone to create an original, royalty-free soundtrack for their video, game or animation.
The Jukedeck technology has already been used for videos by Google and The Natural History Museum and in YouTube videos that have generated over 16 million views.
Ed Rex got the idea for Jukedeck after visiting his girlfriend at Harvard University. While in the other Cambridge he attended his first computer science lecture and became passionate about teaching a computer how to write music.
He convinced his school friend Patrick Stobbs, who also sang with him in King’s College choir, to leave Google and join him at Jukedeck.
The company has since gone from strength to strength. CIC saw the potential in the technology and co-led a seed-funding round together with the University of Cambridge seed funds in 2014.
This has provided Jukedeck with the cash needed to expand its team – which includes machine learning experts, composers, instrumentalists and audio engineers – and develop Jukedeck MAKE.
Ed Rex says: “If you’re making a video, searching through stock audio libraries takes hours, it’s expensive and the copyright and royalty restrictions are confusing. Our goal is to fix that. We want to give video creators a tool that lets them make the music they want in an instant. We want to make getting the right music as quick and as easy as possible.”
Victor Christou, Chief Executive Officer of CIC, comments: “We are thrilled that Ed and the Jukedeck team have been able use the machine learning tools developed within Jukedeck to solve the increasingly painful problem of sourcing unique, tailored music for video creators in a fast, simple and cost-effective way.
"This funding round further validates our initial investment and allows the business to launch its exciting product globally. With the support of CIC and the other investors, we’re certain to be hearing much more from Jukedeck in the future.”
Jukedeck will be working with Abbey Road RED, the innovation arm of Abbey Road Studios, to refine its product with ‘the best ears in the world.’
Ada Lovelace was born on the 10th December 1815 and was a friend and colleague of Charles Babbage. She is widely regarded as the first computer programmer for her work with Babbage on the designs for his Analytical Engine.
She produced a set of notes for the Analytical Engine which anticipated future developments, including the possibility of computer-generated music.
Samples of Jukedeck music can be heard here https://soundcloud.com/jukedeck Videos include: http://bit.ly/jukedeckgoogle. If you would like to hear your own unique piece of music go to www.jukedeck.com.
________________________________________________