Timbaland touts AI voice filters as part of music’s future at VeeCon

Music producer Timbaland generated cheers as well as jeers earlier this month by sharing a snippet of a new song that uses artificial intelligence to present the approximation of the voice of late rapper the Notorious B.I.G.

During a Saturday appearance at a tech and pop culture conference in Indianapolis, Timbaland said he made the polarizing track to show what’s possible with AI.

“I was trying to show the creators that it’s going to be a great tool,” said Timbaland, known for his chart-topping work with Missy Elliott and Justin Timberlake.

Timbaland was one of several celebrities, including Friday speakers Neil Patrick Harris and Drew Barrymore, to attend VeeCon at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Acknowledging the public’s response to the faux Notorious B.I.G. tune was “half and half,” Timbaland said he and a lyricist use AI during their creative process.

“There was a writer, and I produced the track,” said Timbaland, co-founder of the Verzuz musician battle series. “We said, ‘Let’s train this AI on this particular rap flow. Let’s see what Biggie would sound like.’ ”

Negative opinions included complaints about the song being an example of poor taste, something that tarnishes an artist’s legacy and a work that might mislead listeners.

If there’s a future for what Timbaland calls “AI voice filters,” the producer said blockchain technology will be needed for the sake of provenance and authenticity—even when what’s being produced is a tribute to someone who’s no longer alive.

“The only way this thing is going to work is if it’s only on blockchain,” Timbaland said. “There has to be a lot of transparency so people can feel safe.”

Blockchain technology allows a secure record of transactions, something Timbaland views as a win in the context of the music industry.

“It’s better than any contract you could ever have,” he said during a panel discussion titled “Behind the Music.” “It’s total transparency. We never had that in our business. It’s always this person getting over on this person, and this person trying to do that. On the blockchain, there’s none of that. And people can’t really argue, because it’s total transparency.”

Timbaland, otherwise known as Virginia native Tim Mosley, said AI voice filters have the potential to help songwriters pitch their work to A-list artists.

Adele, for instance, could hear a demo track featuring someone else’s voice and not consider the song to be a good fit.

“But if the songwriter sent it back to Adele with ‘Adele’ on it, it can make her hear the song way differently and she can cut it,” Timbaland said.

VeeCon, which bills itself as a “super conference” focused on business, marketing, innovation, technology and popular culture, was founded by entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk.

In 2021, Vaynerchuk minted non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, that serve as tickets to the first three editions of VeeCon. Indianapolis hosted the second VeeCon, following Minneapolis in 2022.

Vaynerchuk wrapped up Saturday’s lineup of speakers and panelists by addressing an estimated audience of 5,000 attendees at the event’s main stage on the floor of the stadium.

VeeCon also used two large conference rooms, one sponsored by streaming platform Tubi, and two smaller rooms, one sponsored by Visa, in the stadium.

Taking the main stage after appearances by actress Jessica Alba and “Shark Tank” investor Daymond John, Vaynerchuk said it’s too early to say where the 2024 edition of VeeCon will happen.

Elsewhere on Saturday’s VeeCon roster, serial entrepreneur Tom Bilyeu delivered a solo presentation titled “Borderless Entertainment.”

Bilyeu’s thoughts on lack of borders referred to Project Kyzen, his experiential game world where a player’s activity shifts from the blockchain to the physical realm through augmented reality and back again.

The co-founder of Quest Nutrition, a health-focused food and snack company that sold to Simply Good Foods for $1 billion in 2019, said blockchain technology is a historic disruptor because it “brought the properties of physics into the digital world.”

People know the specific owners of items and where the items exist, he said.

Also noting that the cryptocurrency market collapsed in 2022 and that NFT art sales have plunged nearly 98% since September 2021, Biyeu said creators need to be patient and also root out deceitful operators in the field of Web 3.0—which incorporates AI, blockchain and machine learning.

“Right now, the Web 3.0 crowd is maligned,” he said. “The world thinks you’re a bunch of scam artists. The world thinks you’ve been bamboozled. The world thinks you’re a bunch of idiots.”

Eventually, Bilyeu said, anyone will have the opportunity to build customized virtual worlds filled with things they love.

One Indianapolis company shared in the VeeCon spotlight when High Alpha co-founder Scott Dorsey spoke on a Saturday panel titled “Building a Modern Tech Company.”

While venture studio High Alpha launched Web 3.0-focused company Holder in 2022, Dorsey devoted some of his remarks to the importance of in-person connections when a business seeks success.

“We’ve seen a monumental shift in the nature of work over the last two or three years with the pandemic and now the move toward distributed and hybrid work,” Dorsey said. “I find it’s even more challenging when you’re not face-to-face to manage expectations and get the most out of every team member. That human connection is so important and so powerful, especially in early-stage companies. I’m a big fan of events, off-site meetings and face-to-face work wherever it’s possible.”