Imogen Heap and Jen introduce AI voice and music models to capture the artist's style

During her decades-long career, Heap has been regarded as an innovator, pushing the boundaries of art and technology. From the early days of her career, she has popularized the use of vocoders. Later, she developed her own products, such as the Mi.Mu gloves, a wearable tool that allows her to record loops and edit vocals with small hand movements, and The Creative Passport, a service that combines all of an artist's information into one part of resume, press photos, royalties accounting, set lists and more.

Last month, in an interview with The Guardian, Heap explained her new AI assistant, called Mogen, which is trained on Heap's interviews, speeches and TK to essentially act as a living autobiography that can answer questions for her fans. Later, she hopes to expand Mogen to train her in musical improvisation and become a live concert partner.

Jen is an AI music creation platform that puts transparency at the forefront. His Jen-1 model, released in June, is a text-to-music model trained on 40 different licensed catalogs (and then verified with 150 million songs). It is also supported by the founder/CEO of APG Mike Karenwho came on board as a founding partner in the fall of 2023. As Senderoff explained in an August 2023 interview with Bulletin board“Jen is spelled JEN because she's designed to be your friend who goes into the studio with you. It's a tool.”

Jen uses blockchain technology to ensure transparency and traceability of her projects after they are created and released to the world. Each of the works created with Heap's StyleFilter will be licensed for use through Auracles — an upcoming non-profit platform, designed by Jen, that uses source data to give artists greater access, control and permission to what is made using their StyleFilter model.

While other AI companies have worked to create personalized AI music models trained on a specific list of producers or artists in the past, such as Soundful Collabs, Jen's team believes StyleFilter is different because it “can learn and apply the style of an artist training into a song, establishing a new level of creative precision and efficiency,” says a company spokesperson.

“Shara's integrity shines an extraordinary light at this pivotal moment in our human history,” says Heap. “The exponential curve of innovation in and with AI attracts opportunists focused primarily on lining their pockets in the gold rush or those racing at speed to stick their 'tech flag' in the sand to corner a market. Along with clear product innovation and new revenue streams for Jen's musicians, Shara's power of inspiration and determination to get the ethical foundation right from the ground up is inspiring. A very rare example of service, contributing to a future where people are empowered, valued and credited, in and for our collective global tools and knowledge.”

“At Jen, we're committed to creating innovative products that invite artists to participate as AI reshapes the music industry, allowing their art to take new forms as technology evolves, while ensuring respect and fair compensation,” says Senderoff. “Our StyleFilter is a testament to that vision, introducing an innovative way for users to engage with the musical essence of artists they may never have the opportunity to work with directly. Premiering this product with Imogen Heap, a pioneer at the intersection of music and technology, exemplifies our commitment to building with respect and reverence for those who paved the way. She is also an incomparable person whom I am honored to call my friend.”