Music Video-Sharing App Popster Utilizes Generative AI and Allows Artists to Remix Videos
As the music streaming and creation tool landscape continues to evolve, Popster, a social music-sharing app, is introducing two new features to expand its user base: an AI-powered image generator for cover art and a collaboration tool enabling artists to remix another user's song.
Initially launched last year as a song-creation tool and music video platform, Popster allows artists to engage with other musicians, create original songs and music videos, and share them on social media. Users can record video and voice directly in the app and add stickers and color backgrounds. The app also offers a selection of in-house vocal effects and a community section for artists to interact with each other.
Popster has also integrated generative AI technology into its platform. For instance, the app provides ways for artists to generate ideas for lyrics as well as create new beats to record vocals on top. The AI tech is also used to enhance audio quality by reducing background noise.
One notable AI-powered tool is the "Add a beat" feature, powered by OpenAI. Users can select a genre (such as Lofi Hip Hop, R&B, Indie Pop, Slow Ballad, and so on) and a vibe (like "Smooth" or "Normal") to compose a backtrack for singers to add their voice recordings on top.
Popster trains its model using Mubert's library of royalty-free pre-made tracks, distinguishing itself from AI music apps that have faced lawsuits for allegedly using copyrighted music without authorization.
"The issue with AI right now is that many people create songs that are trained from original songs, so you don't know who is the original creator, and there's not this concept of creativity," co-founder and CEO Themis Drakonakis said. "We believe that if you put AI next to the artist as a creative partner, you can experiment with different sounds, unlock different ideas, and get your creativity to another level."
Popster's new artwork generator, "Albums," is the newest addition to its generative AI tools. In addition to recording and uploading videos, Popster now allows artists to enter a prompt to generate an image that can be displayed like a sticker overlay on top of an artist's short-form video. This adds an extra layer of sophistication for new and up-and-coming artists trying to introduce their new songs into the world.
Another new feature is reminiscent of TikTok's "Stitch" and "Duet" tools, which artists frequently use to combine their videos with other creators to add vocals, harmonize, or play instruments. Popster's new "Mashup" feature lets artists create remixes and collaborate with other artists. Users can now click the "Mashup" button under another person's video and record their own video, which will appear side-by-side.
Popster is still in its early days, with only a few thousand users. However, the app's latest features may be what it needs to attract more people. So far, nearly 10,000 original songs have been created on the app. Drakonakis said users spend an average of 1.5 hours on the app daily.
The startup was co-founded by Drakonakis, who previously created three other apps, Nup (an anonymous chat app), Self'it (a location-based photo-sharing app), and UniPad (a collaboration app for college students), and Sotiris Kaniras (CTO), a former engineer for UniPad.
Popster raised $280,000 from the Realize Tech Fund and is in the midst of raising a pre-seed funding round, which will help it grow its team and enhance its video server. Other future plans include launching paid features and partnering with music labels.
The app is available for download on the App Store.
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