From jingles to pop hits, AI is music to some ears

London

PATRICK Stobbs recently sat in a conference room playing songs from his smartphone, attempting to show how his startup, Jukedeck, is at the cutting edge of music. The tune sounded like the soundtrack to a 1980s video game. "This is where we were two years ago," he said, looking slightly embarrassed.

"And this is where we are now," he continued. He then played a gentle piano piece. Its melody was simple, and it was unsubtle in its melancholy, but there was no denying that it could work as background music for, say, a health insurance commercial.