Los Insiders - David Meredith
David Meredith is breaking music down to a science with Music Intelligence Solutions Inc. As CEO and President of the global digital media company, Meredith is steering the music industry into the future with Hit Song Science and Music Universe technology, patented by uPlaya™. Once exclusively utilized by record labels, the software is now available to the public via uPlaya.com and applies mathematical algorithms to analyze music patterns. The program even has hip-hop revolutionary –an uPlaya partner and advisor– Chuck D, singing its praises. A Public Enemy fan himself, David Meredith gives ULM the 411 about the technology, what the tool is doing for new artists and what it will do for the future of music. - Samantha McQuibban
Exactly how does Hit Song Science
and Music Universe technology
work? Music Intelligence has worldclass
physics and math PhDs who work
on the patented algorithms that analyze
music and predicts whether songs have
the potential to be a hit. We start with a
process called Spectral Deconvolution.
What that means is, we do different
kinds of analysis like signal processing
and wave lengths. Everything you need
to know about a song is in that digital
file…an MP3. We get the digital file and
then we extract out of the underlying attributes
and patterns of that music. We
also have a database where we analyze
millions of other songs—[in] all languages
and all genres.
What benefits does this technology
bring to unsigned and signed artists
seeking visibility from labels and
fans? Well, it’s easier than ever for an
artist to get their music online. That has
created a massive promotional barrier
where it’s almost impossible for
even the most talented artist to break
through. So that’s the problem we’ve
solve fundamentally by providing visibility
to these really gifted artists. We’re
able to analyze [a ton of] music and
find artists that have done some great
things and shine a spotlight on them so
that they get the recognition and the exposure
that they deserve. [uPlaya] is the
only place in the world they can get this
kind of validation because record labels
are so overwhelmed. As an artist, they
can go, almost in real-time on the web,
and get objective feedback on their music.
It’s very visceral.
The software works across all genres.
How will this help in tapping into the
Latino community? I think it’s perfect
for all the genres across the Latino
community. We’re so excited with the
Urban Latino partnership for the talent
search that we’re doing because sometimes
[Latin] music isn’t always getting
the mainstream attention. The other
systems that look at music are not able
to do all different genres like we can.
Describe a typical day for you, as
CEO. There’s not a typical day. But I try
everyday to correspond with customers
to find out what they like and what they
would like to see different. I [get] really
excited because this is a company that
can be part of the solution for the music
industry going forward. [uPlaya] can
really be an integral part of making the
industry work better.
Music is such a big part of what you
do, who do you listen to? I have eclectic
taste. On the hip-hop side, I like
Public Enemy. I’m a big fan of theirs. I
grew up listening to classic rock, Led
Zeppelin, The Beatles and The Rolling
Stones. If I want to meditate, I put
on Enya. I’ve even come across some
great music through the Urban Latino
contest. One act that’s really good is
called The Bingtones.
What lies ahead for uPlaya? uPlaya will be critical to the future evolution of the music industry. In five years, we’d like to see uPlaya [serve] as a global music solution that’s really pulling people together into a broader music community. [Ultimately], our goal is to democratize the music industry.
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