The emergence of this artist is sure to spark much debate.
Music legend Timbaland has officially entered the era of artificial intelligence music with the launch of a new entertainment company called Stage Zero. Timbaland is set to introduce the first artist named TaTa, a youthful and eye-catching virtual singer who is entirely non-human.
Co-founded by Timbaland's creative partner, Zayd Portillo, and filmmaker Rocky Mudaliar, Stage Zero emerged from an idea that Timbaland has harbored for a long time, stemming from his experiences experimenting with an AI music generation platform called Suno last year. “I saw the path, but I had to wait for everything to catch up,” Timbaland shared.
TaTa is the first virtual character in Stage Zero's long-term plan, where digital personas are being built not just as music artists but also aims to become virtual influencers and even participate in film and television. Rocky Mudaliar asserts: “What Tim wants to do is pioneer a new genre of music - A-pop, which stands for artificial pop music.”
The music of TaTa is created through a process blending human creativity and AI technology. Traditional demos composed by Timbaland will be uploaded to Suno, where AI further develops the sound. Subsequently, lyrics written by humans will be added. TaTa's vocals first appeared in a track generated by Suno, instantly captivating Timbaland. Thanks to the Personas feature on Suno, the team was able to accurately record and reuse that very voice.
According to Portillo, among the many tracks being developed, TaTa's songs are being completed more quickly and smoothly than others.
Stage Zero was established amidst the ongoing controversies in the music industry regarding AI's role in creation. Major record labels have sued Suno and rival Udio, alleging that they used copyrighted data to train AI. Some artists like Billie Eilish and Stevie Wonder have also signed an open letter opposing AI for threatening human creativity.
Nevertheless, Timbaland and his team are confident that this wave of opposition will soon fade. Mudaliar remains optimistic: “There will be some scuffles, but this concept isn't going to disappear. We relate to the emergence of influencers - something that seemed ridiculous a decade ago when we said: 'There's no way YouTubers can be more famous than actors.' And now they are the biggest stars in the world.”
With TaTa and the upcoming virtual artists, Stage Zero is laying the groundwork for a new generation of entertainment where technology and art no longer have clear boundaries.
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