Andrew Harding of SourceAudio on How AI Transforms the Music Licensing Process

Brands should amplify artists' messages, not overpower them

Andrew is the co-founder and CEO of SourceAudio. 

We spent two minutes with Andrew to learn more about his background, his creative inspirations and recent work he’s admired. 

Andrew, tell us …

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

I grew up in a small town in Eastern Washington called Walla Walla and have lived in the L.A. area for over 20 years now.

Your earliest musical memory.

Listening to local radio stations in the ’80s playing Casey Kasem’s and Rick Dees’ nationally syndicated shows. I’d wait for my favorite songs so I could record them on cassette. Country music was big in my hometown, and it still surprises my kids when I can go word-for-word with old Garth Brooks, George Strait and Tim McGraw.

Your favorite bands/musicians today.

Daily workouts: Diplo, Black Coffee, Disclosure, Kendrick Lamar, Nipsey Hussle and all kinds of ’90s hip-hop. Then over to Morgan Wallen and Sam Hunt. In the evenings around the house, I’m more about The Teskey Brothers, Frank Sinatra and jazz.

One of your favorite projects you’ve ever worked on.

We recently launched SongLab.ai, which is a music AI suite built on a fully licensed dataset. With our expertise in sync, we were able to design SongLab with artists in mind—helping them adapt their music to fit any brief so they can get the most out of their songs. For instance, it can turn a rock song into a country song if the sync calls for it. Or, it can separate a track’s stems so you can remove the vocals if they just want an instrumental. The possibilities are endless. Plus you don’t need to worry about the ethics of AI, because we make sure the original artists used to train our model get paid for both the input and output. 

Someone else’s work, in music or beyond, that you admired lately.

Scott Galloway’s podcasts. Great resource for business news, commentary and more.

A book, movie, TV show or podcast you recently found inspiring.

I love to cook, especially with my family. I get inspired by YouTube channels F*ck, That’s Delicious, Matty Matheson and Laurent Dagenais. 

An artist you admire outside the world of music.

Daniel Arsham and Tristan Eaton.

Your favorite fictional character.

Moana. She’s been my 10-year old daughter’s favorite. That makes her my favorite, too. 

How musicians should approach working with brands.

Build the relationship versus just going at it like a transaction. That will help you understand each other’s goals and values, which will produce the best outcomes. 

How brands should approach working with musicians.

Partnerships succeed when brands amplify the artist’s message rather than overshadow it. The most impactful campaigns come from working with artists who already love your brand. Those artists are out there. We help brands connect with them to shape partnerships that move culture.

A mentor who helped you navigate the industry.

I’ve spent a ton of time with Guy Oseary building a sustainable future for music in the era of AI. We’re protecting artists and rights holders and finding ways to lean into new technology to unlock opportunities. 

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in the music business.

I played baseball through college, and it’s still something I love and think about every day. You do it that many hours, and it just becomes part of you. It’d be a blast to get involved in baseball again in some way.