'Pre-Unicorn' Musicow Restores Late Im Yun-taek's Voice with AI for Music Auction

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dong-hyun] New songs by the late Yoo Jae-ha and the late Lim Yoon-taek, a member of the group Ulala Session, will be released using artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

According to industry sources on the 30th, Musicow, a music copyright trading platform, has decided to hold an auction for the neighboring rights participation claims of the upcoming songs by the late Yoo Jae-ha and Lim Yoon-taek through the TVING original program Alive.

Founded in 2016, Musicow is the world's first music copyright trading platform. It trades 'copyright royalty participation claims,' which are rights to receive royalties generated from music copyright property rights and neighboring rights. In July last year, Musicow was selected as a 'pre-unicorn' by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, recognizing its corporate value at around 100 billion KRW. Recently, Stick Investment also invested 200 billion KRW in Musicow.

This auction is special as it marks the first time in 35 years that Yoo Jae-ha appears before the public, and the full Ulala Session stage with Lim Yoon-taek after 8 years. While there have been cases of AI learning used for mimicry or cover songs, this is the first time a new song is released with the fully restored voice of the musician.

Yoo Jae-ha released the album Because I Love You in 1987, which made a significant mark on Korean popular music. However, he passed away in a traffic accident in November of the same year at the age of 25. Lim Yoon-taek was a member of the group Ulala Session, which debuted through the audition program Superstar K3. He passed away from stomach cancer in February 2013.

The auction will proceed sequentially after the song release, and detailed schedules will be announced through the Musicow website and mobile application. Fans will be able to receive monthly royalties from neighboring rights generated whenever the song is streamed or used.

A Musicow representative said, "We are holding a shared auction to cherish and commemorate these special moments when the artists we missed are reborn and sing through AI technology," adding, "We will continue to lead the culture of sharing copyright royalties and build a win-win relationship where both artists and fans benefit."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.