Endel Becomes The First Generative AI Company To Produce a Playlist with Amazon Music

21 February 2023 - Press release

Amazon Music has tapped Endel, a company backed by the Alexa Fund, to produce wellness playlists using Endel's unique, science-based tech.
 
In an exciting new collaboration, Amazon Music and Berlin-based AI sound wellness app Endel will produce a sleep playlist, making Endel the first generative AI company to collaborate with the service on a playlist. Drawing on extensive research into the neuroscience of sleep, the playlist lasts roughly 8 hours or until the listener awakens, and will be available on February 17, only on Amazon Music.
 
The sleep playlist created with Amazon Music, titled "Sleep Science,"  opens with an Amazon Original track featuring electronic duo Kx5 (Kaskade and deadmau5) that was produced using the hit track "Escape" and released through AWAL. The source material, including synths and chill vocals, was processed by Endel Pacific to create a high-quality, relaxing soundscape activating the parasympathetic nervous system and getting the listener ready for sleep.
 
Endel Pacific is Endel's patented AI-engine, which creates scientifically backed sleep tracks that follow natural sleep phases, first preparing the brain for sleep, then aiding as the listener falls and stays asleep. All while providing quality sound pleasurable to listeners and backed by scientific research into sleep, circadian rhythms, and psychoacoustics.
 
"At Endel, we've been invested in the neuroscience of functional sound since day one," says Oleg Stavitsky, co-founder and CEO of Endel. "To successfully deliver functional music, neuroscience has to guide AI technology. The human mind must be at the forefront of this experience."
 
"We're excited to work with Endel to provide an optimal experience for Amazon Music listeners looking to wind down and settle into sleep," said Stephen Brower, global co-lead of artist relations for Amazon Music. "We look forward to our customers discovering their science backed approach as well as their curatorial instincts for unique artist collaborations, including Kx5's new Amazon Original release."
 
Endel, which has also received prior investment from the Alexa Fund, has collaborated with Amazon Music as the latest in a long string of historical deals the company has closed. In 2019, Endel became the first AI company to sign a distribution deal with WMG's ADA for 20 albums generated with Endel Pacific. Last year, Endel × James Blake's "Wind Down" soundscape was released as an album and was distributed by UMG's Republic. Endel has used their approach to generative AI, backed by science, to produce soundscapes with James Blake, Grimes, Miguel, and many others.
 
"Generative AI is a hot topic now, but we've been applying this technology for years, in radical ways designed to expand music's possibilities and formats, and to transform how we interact with sound," Stavitsky says. "Working with Amazon Music demonstrates how valuable an artful application of AI can be to large music business players and how engaging the sonic results can be for listeners."
 
Last year, Endel announced its $15M Series B, led by Waverley Capital (investors in Headspace, Wondery, FuboTV, Roku), and True Ventures (investors in Fitbit, Peloton, Blue Bottle Coffee, and Ring). Co-Founder, Chairman, and General Partner of Waverley Capital, Edgar Bronfman Jr., and CEO and co-founder of Wave, Adam Arrigo, joined True Ventures Partner Kevin Rose on Endel's board. Prior investors including the Alexa Fund, Techstars Ventures (Endel was part of the Techstars Music Accelerator), and Supermoon Capital also participated.