Jack
08-09-2009, 11:36 AM
Any budding song writers on here?
Computer programs already recommend books to read or DVDs to watch. But can a mathematical algorithm predict if a song will become a hit? Singer-songwriter Ben Novak said he was skeptical that a San Francisco company's technology could determine whether his song "Turn Your Car Around" would be a winner.
But the technology, called Hit Song Science, gave the song a high score, which caught the attention of a record executive. The song ended up hitting No. 12 on the British music charts and No. 2 in Italy.
Still, Novak, who made enough in royalties from "Turn Your Car Around" to pay off his mortgage, doesn't use the Hit Song Science software anymore, because it taught him to trust his own judgment. He also cautioned that software can't replace "the people factor" in producing good music, either as an artist or a record executive.
"You, as the artist, have to write and produce songs," said Novak, who is set to release an album soon. Music intelligence software is merely a good filter."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/07/BUL819HNGF.DTL
Computer programs already recommend books to read or DVDs to watch. But can a mathematical algorithm predict if a song will become a hit? Singer-songwriter Ben Novak said he was skeptical that a San Francisco company's technology could determine whether his song "Turn Your Car Around" would be a winner.
But the technology, called Hit Song Science, gave the song a high score, which caught the attention of a record executive. The song ended up hitting No. 12 on the British music charts and No. 2 in Italy.
Still, Novak, who made enough in royalties from "Turn Your Car Around" to pay off his mortgage, doesn't use the Hit Song Science software anymore, because it taught him to trust his own judgment. He also cautioned that software can't replace "the people factor" in producing good music, either as an artist or a record executive.
"You, as the artist, have to write and produce songs," said Novak, who is set to release an album soon. Music intelligence software is merely a good filter."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/07/BUL819HNGF.DTL