ByteDance Launches Ripple Music App for Creators

ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, has launched a new app called Ripple that aims to simplify the process of composing and editing music for creators. Currently available only in the US and being tested in a closed beta environment, Ripple is designed to assist creators, particularly beginners and those who prefer simpler systems, in a similar way to portable smart digital audio workstations (DAWs). The app also aims to make it easier for creators to incorporate custom soundtracks into their short-form videos on TikTok and other platforms.

Ripple can create songs in different genres based on the melody hummed by the user. The app prompts them to hum into the phone’s microphone and then creates instrumentals they can play, such as drums, bass and piano. The length of the song’s output corresponds to the length of the input – the application cannot create a full soundtrack from just a few seconds of hum. In addition, Ripple can only produce instrumental music, leaving the vocal work to the creators.

ByteDance told us that Ripple’s model was trained on music it owned and music licensed to the company. The company also announced that it is committed to respecting the rights of its artists and rights holders. It is worth noting that there have been concerns about the sources of data used to train AI systems and algorithms. Just recently, a class-action status lawsuit was filed against OpenAI, accusing it of violating the copyrights and privacy of countless individuals by using data scraped from the Internet to train ChatGPT’s model.

Currently, Ripple is invite-only, and ByteDance has no other deployment plans yet. Those who want to check it out before others can visit Ripple.club where they can find the download link for the iOS app and request an invite.