Grammy-winning engineer Wez Clarke launches the world's first AI engineering clone

14 December 2023 - Press release

 

Grammy Award-winning engineer Wez Clarke has unveiled the world’s first AI clone of an engineer. In a pioneering collaboration, Clarke has licensed his unique talent to AI mastering company Masterchannel, for the launch of Wez Clarke AI. The launch represents a significant advancement in the integration of musical artistry with AI, and showcases the future potential of how AI can be developed in partnership with the music industry. 

In the same way that voice clones capture the vocal characteristics of singers, Wez Clarke AI encapsulates the expertise of two-time Grammy nominee Clarke. It builds on Masterchannel’s existing AI mastering service that functions autonomously like a professional music engineer. 

The new tool provides everyone from bedroom musicians to professional artists with the opportunity to experience the meticulous decision-making of Clarke during the engineering and mastering process, to create a track that resonates across all platforms. As the volume of song-creation is expected to multiply in the future, this ground-breaking approach represents an opportunity for everyone to experience professional audio quality of Grammy Award-winning standards. 

Clarke has mixed 13 UK Number 1 singles, with hits for artists including Beyoncé, Rudimental, Tinie Tempah, Naughty Boy and Little Mix. He mixed Clean Bandit and Jess Glynne’s ‘Rather Be’, which won a Grammy in 2015. 

This development aligns with recent research from the IFPI that revealed that 74% of music fans worldwide agree that AI should not be used to clone or impersonate artists without authorization. Masterchannel’s AI clone addresses these concerns and demonstrates a model where artists can directly benefit from AI innovations - Clarke receives 100% of the extra revenue that Masterchannel generates via Wez Clarke AI.

Thanks to state-of-the-art reinforcement learning, the service operates without relying on extensive datasets of songs or copyrighted material and can be replicated with other engineers, representing a scalable model for AI integration in the music industry.

Masterchannel users have the option to upgrade their existing plan to include the Wez Clarke clone.

This launch follows Masterchannel's recent introduction of SpatialAI, which was the first solution on the market to streamline the creation and technical compliance of spatial audio releases, preparing them for distribution in minutes. Similarly, Wez Clarke AI is aimed at bridging the gap between engineers and producers, creating a modern approach to high volume and high-quality audio engineering.

 

Simon Hestermann, Masterchannel's CTO, spatial mastering patent holder, and former audio researcher at Fraunhofer IDMT, stated:

"This latest addition enriches our mastering technology, allowing users to tailor their tracks in Wez Clarke's signature style. Having Wez Clarke collaborate with us, acknowledging the potential and future of AI in music, is a testament to how artists can use AI to their benefit. While there is widespread concern about the unauthorized impersonation of artists, this launch demonstrates that artists can actively shape and harness AI's role in the industry.

“Not only does this launch pave the way for other engineers to explore new revenue streams, it also exemplifies a balanced approach to AI use in music, prioritizing fair compensation while embracing technological innovation. Clarke receives all extra income generated by this tool, providing a model for how artists and producers can build valuable new revenue streams with AI.”

 

Wez Clarke said: 

“The exciting thing about the clone is that it’s opening up what I can deliver to a much wider audience of bedroom artists and producers. It’s great that they can experience working with a major engineer - I would have loved to have had the opportunity to use something like this when I was just starting out, because it’s a perfect way to learn. Producers can get so used to the way their music sounds, and not realize how much better it could get. The clone gives everyone the chance to make their music sound as good as released music, and ultimately they’ll learn how to achieve that professional sound themselves.”