Music and processed cheese
You know those flat, thin squares of rubbery, yellow cheese – the stuff they sell in supermarkets and that you find on fast-food cheeseburgers? It’s been ‘processed’ for easy handling, packaging and distribution and tastes as flat and thin as it looks.
Well, Polyphonic HMI (Human Medcia Interface) is doing the same thing to music with plastic wrapping it calls HSS – market-babble for ‘Hit Song Science’.
Based in Spain, Polyphonic HMI says it’s developed a system of mathematical music analysis and is, "currently utilizing it in two key areas: individual music recommendation; and as a tool for the record industry".
As far as the labels are concerned, "The music industry has taken a beating in the past few years," it states. "They are looking for solutions to address the concerns and criticisms they’ve been subject to. Many music label executives have lost their jobs and will never get them back in an industry that is shrinking. Today’s executive know they cannot continue with business-as-usual and keep their jobs.
"The labels see that Hit Song Science might be a very good tool and they need time to use it, experiment with it and see how it goes. We will strive to make things better for everyone. Give us some time to show some real results. We think our technology could be a wonderful revolution for everyone from the labels to the garage band. We’ll do our very best not to disappoint you."
Anyhow, it won’t be a surprise to discover the company also has individual musicians in its marketing sights.
Basically, for $49.99 a pop, apparently, it’ll decide if your music is "mathematically similar to recent hit songs". A high score means it is and – wait for it – a low score, "means it is dissimilar".
Its FAQ has a whole slew of questions, including:
Q – What is considered a good score?
A – We use a logarithmic scale where the distance between 4 and 5 is half the distance as that between 5 and 6 and that distance in turn is half that between 6 and 7 etc … We tend to say that a score of 7.00 and higher has solid hit potential and scores below 4.00 do not.
Q – If I’m not satisfied with the results of the report, can I get my money back?
A – No. We’re sorry but all transactions are final. Keep in mind that we are testing songs for hit potential on the pop charts in either the US or the UK. If you get a low score on this service it doesn’t not mean your song can’t be successful within a certain genre or in a different market than the ones our databases are established for, it just most likely won’t climb the charts such as those similar to the Billboard Hot 100 or the British Pop Charts.
Here’s another Q&A:
Q – What about songs that are hits based on their lyrical content such as hip hop or The Angry American by Toby Keith?
A – Our analysis program does not take into account the lyrical content of songs. So yes, sometimes the lyrics can be the most powerful thing in a song and propel it up the charts. However good lyrics coupled with music that has optimal mathematical properties for today’s market will have it much easier.
heh. OK – sometimes the lyrics have something to do with success.
Q – What else does this technology do?
A – Polyphonic HMI will also be using the technology at the production level of music creation. By teaming up with veteran artists and producers the application adds to the creative process by isolating the important attributes of the music which will allow new sounds and styles to flourish. We will be working with many veteran and Grammy winning producers.
Are we talking about music, or cheese?
October 30th, 2004 at 10:32 pm
The author of this article has obviously missed the intention and implications of this technology. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, this is our sort of “inalienable” rights as individuals. But I must argue that the information provided is incomplete.
The question is as easy to answer as this, have you ever heard someone refer to Da Vinci’s “Last Supper”, The Greek Parthenon, the Venus De Milo, a sunflower or a picture of the Milky Way as ugly? Did you know that these things are all connected? Do you know by what? The answer is math. A particular ratio known as the “Divine Proportion” or the “Golden Mean.”
It occurs naturally. Humans are walking examples of it. It exists in the lengths of our arms, legs and torso, as well as our fingers and toes. It can be seen in the honeycomb construction of bees and in the spiraling shell of the gastropod known as the Nautilus. We are all influenced by it on a subconcious level. It effects the way we interpret the world every day. And yes, it can make you decide whether or not you think something is pretty.
Polyphonic has not put forth a product with the ability to create music. Music must come from the soul to start life. That has never been in question and their is no way of changing that. It’s almost easier to think of HSS as the computerized voice of your own subconcious producer.
There is nothing “processed” about this technology. It applies to every genre, every style and every taste. That is the whole point of the technology. It can open your ears to styles of music you never dreamed you would like. If you want to stay closed minded to music, fine, that’s your choice. But I’m a musician and I will never stop my search for the next horizon. Whether you like it or not, the possibility that The Ramones and Creed have made music with similar mathmatical properties is not that far out of reach. But there is always more to what it is you might enjoy. Your own personal elements will help you decide, no label can take that away from you.
If anything, this technology has encouraged labels to release a wider variety of music. If there is some unknown, underground garage band out there who is going to be known as the next Beatles, Rolling Stones, Nirvana, Sex Pistols or whatever, this technology could be the difference in getting them heard.