Warner Music wrote a new page in the history of the development of the music industry
Warner Music, one of the top three record companies, made history on September 1, 2023 by signing the first virtual pop singer with artificial intelligence and Instagram influencer Noonoouri to a recording contract and releasing a debut single called Dominoes. Warner were the first to approach Noonoouri creator Jörg Zuber from Munich with a proposal to create music. A spokesperson for Warner Music Central Europe said: “Noonoouri is a long-standing digital character that we have signed to record.”
The Noonoouri influencer herself commented on the cooperation with Warner Music on her Instagram page as follows:
“Music has played a big role in my life since the beginning. It sets me up and feeds my visions and ideas to bring them to life as a driving force within me. Warner Music is home to many of my favorite music artists. For me It is a great honor to join such a wonderful family, where musical melodies are the rhythm of life”.
Warner Music’s announcement of a partnership with Noonoouri comes just a month after it was revealed that rival Universal Music was in talks with Google to license artists’ voices and tunes to be used in AI-generated songs . Discussions are at a very early stage and no product is expected to launch, but the goal is to reach an agreement that would allow more software to be developed to allow fans to create songs with artificial intelligence and pay copyright holders. Artists will be given a choice – to participate or not to participate in the project.
Who is NOONOOURI?
Noonoouri is a lifelong dream for 43-year-old German programmer Jörg Zuber, whose roots lie in his fascination with the world of fashion, which began when he bought his first fashion magazine at the age of five. For him, fashion is a symbol of freedom of self-expression, and Noonoouri embodies this freedom for him. Zuber decided to create Noonoouri as a virtual avatar, actually an image or animation that has a real character, a biography – 19 years old, originally from Munich – and social media accounts. She is unlike any other artist as she exists solely as a digital entity on the internet, free from human limitations such as aging, fatigue and sleep.
Noonoouri’s career began at the age of 19 and she has taken the fashion world by storm with over 200,000 Instagram followers and collaborations with top brands. Zuber introduced the character to the public at the end of 2017, which led to partnerships with famous labels such as Marc Jacobs, Dior and Versace. She has also starred in commercials for Kim Kardashian’s makeup line and has forged connections with supermodels such as Naomi Campbell. Noonoouri’s digital presence extends beyond music, as she is known for promoting veganism, sustainable fashion and speaking out against the use of fur in the fashion industry.
Noonoouri’s specialty as an artist is her singing voice. It is generated by artificial intelligence. First, a real singer’s voice was recorded, which was then modified to give the digital influencer her unique vocal identity. While Noonoouri’s voice may have a somewhat raspy quality due to the AI manipulation, it does demonstrate progress in AI technology.
Also, Mr. Zuber uses a motion capture suit to provide Noonoouri with movement in the animation. These are the movements that were used when working on the recently released music video for the Dominoes single, created in collaboration with German DJ and producer Alle Farben.
To date, Noonoouri has 400,000 followers on Instagram, and her single Dominoes has already garnered over 60,000 views on YouTube, thanks to AI that allowed a growing avatar team to help create a singing voice for the influencer.
Commenting on his debut clip on Instagram, Jorga Zuber himself said:
“After two years of hard work on this music project, we can finally share this incredible teamwork with the world – thank you @warnermusic.de for believing in us #TheBeginning.”
The reaction of pop fans to the Dominoes clip of the virtual singer
Warner Music has signed the industry’s first-ever record deal with a potentially explosive virtual pop star, but faced backlash online for the “sexualization of a child’s body” in avatar Noonoouri’s “creepy” debut music video for the Dominoes single.
Most pop fans didn’t like the clip, as evidenced by comments on social media with outspoken criticism, where Noonoouri, dressed in Kim Kardashian’s Skims clothing, is called “paedo-bait” by Warner, and their decision to create the video is “disgusting”. Which is rather strange to read, because the creation of the clip was not done by Warner Music employees, but by Jörg Zuber’s team. But the haters are unstoppable, especially among listeners who are parents.
One user X wrote: “Why…. is this a baby?”, while another said: “Just when I thought they couldn’t go any lower.”
Others thought Noonoouri had the body of a “12-year-old” and was “so disgusting”, while one user added: “Is this the image Warner wants to be associated with?”
This is not the first time that parents have expressed concern about the “hypersexualization” of characters in the metaverse, in particular in connection with the game Avakin Life, where virtual pop star Polar regularly performs in front of crowds of teenagers.
“My daughter has been playing this app for about three months. She’s 15. The app says it’s safe for kids over 13. She’s met kids younger than her flaunting their Avakin dolls in revealing underwear, looking for relationships, mentioning about sex,” wrote one of the parents in a review of the game.
“It’s unclear how many of these children are actually children and not adults looking for children.”
Avakin Life said at the time that it took the safety of teenagers “very seriously” and stressed that it had a reporting system in place.
What about copyright?
Digital models like Noonoouri make a lot of money for their creators. Take the example of 23-year-old Snapchat influencer Caryn Marjorie. She created an AI version of herself that chats with people online and charges $1 a minute for it. She claims that she can easily make $5 million every month by talking to people online.
Details of Noonoouri’s deal with Warner Music have not been disclosed. According to the Philippine Times, Noonoouri earns about $1,800 per sponsored post. Noonoouri is estimated to earn around $2.6 million a year.
The company didn’t say how much Noonoouri’s contract is worth, but says every singer, songwriter and musician involved in the creation of Dominoes’ debut track will receive royalties and publishing cuts, just like traditional music production.
artificial intelligence / copyright / intellectual property / Noonoouri / Warner Music
