Synthetic Singing Voices Startup Supertone Acquired for $31.5M
K-pop Management Company Hybe of BTS Fame Does the Deal
Hybe, a music management group formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment, made a $3.6 million investment in Supertone in March 2021. The investor is best known for its supergroup client BTS. Its investment was for developing “a hyper-realistic and expressive voice.” Supertone had already revived the voices of past Korean music stars at the time. Voicebot’s Eric Schwartz wrote at the time:
The demand for BTS vastly outweighs the group’s ability to physically record or perform. They could never sleep or do anything but record and still likely not fulfill every request. If their voices can be synthetically generated, however, suddenly all of the licensing for games, cartoon shows, personal messages, and any other audio-only work becomes a lot more feasible. Apparently, Supertone was making a lot of progress because Hybe decided to add to its ownership and acquire the company for $31.5 million.
Synthetic Singing Voices Are Not Easy
While there are regular improvements in the fidelity of synthetic voices for speaking, that market has matured considerably over the past three years. Much earlier in its development is the market for synthetic singing voices. So, Hybe is getting in before there is a lot of competition.
Plus, it has the chance to revive the voices of deceased singers for new licensing deals as well as offer new products of its living clients’ likenesses. Respeecher, along with Metaphysic, recently received widespread acclaim for resurrecting the voice of young Elvis for America’s Got Talent. Supertone had done this more than a year earlier in Korea for folk singer Kim Kwang-Seok during a show where AI competed with humans.
These voice clones for deceased or no longer active singers adds new value to existing assets that can tap into the nostalgia of existing fans while also creating a new generation of followers. For living musicians, it can increase their capacity to get more done without tapping into their already overbooked schedules.
This market is just heating up, and apparently it has the ability to drive significant value.
