How do you do, fellow kids! It’s been a while since we did a deep dive on something super cool & relevant to music-makers via our “wtf is” series. This week’s subject was a clear choice, as it’s one of my favorite places to be, so let’s get to it!
wtf is… kits?
Welcome to the i-wave pages, kits! While we’ve covered other fly web3-focused platforms or companies for artists in the past, this is the first one I have tons of personal experience using and can only describe as “chulo” (that means COOL). I’m excited to share my perspective on kits as an artist/producer/songwriter — the combination is important, as I’ll get into below — so if that’s you, PLEASE listen up!
So, wtf is kits? According to their Mirror blog, kits officially launched in February of this year as a “sample marketplace allowing musicians to own their samples and co-create with their favorite artists in ways never before possible.” They break down the basics in this post; purchasing a kit means “samples you truly own, samples only you can use, and samples that connect you to new communities.”
First Impressions:
A visit to kits.io is an exciting experience. Jump straight to the current active producer/artist competitions or learn what’s new via the navigation bar up top, or scroll down to get a sampling (tee-hee) of all that kits has to offer, including featured sample kits, past ones, and of course, all things kits AI voice models.
Beyond the user experience, there’s the kits community, which is probably the least self-important and most supportive web3 music community I’m a part of. If you get involved with kits, you’ll probably get a dm from a kits team member thanking you for checking it out, and inviting you to become a part of the Telegram group chat to keep up on the latest. Of course, if you have questions or need support, they are there for you, too. Overall, the energy around kits is welcoming and encouraging.
What do they do?:
We’ve talked about the sample kits, but what adds excitement and incentive to working with those are competitions with a wide range of prizes — everything from releasing music with the producer/artist who dropped the kit to studio time with them. If you want to get closer or get heard by some of the biggest names in web3 music, here’s a good place to start.
Next is the profoundly exciting world of AI vocals, which kits has dove into with the utmost consideration for artists, something sorely needed given some of the AI music fuckery we have witnessed thus far. From day one, kits has shown that they are here to explore that world with consent and artists’ terms as the priority. Definitely check out this Twitter space with artist TK, the first kits AI vocal model artist, for a more nuanced conversation about why he got involved and the vast possibilities he sees with it:
What’s new with them?:
What’s new with kits is definitely lots more on the AI voice models front.
Besides the library, kits.AI (they made their own Twitter account for all things AI voice models) is giving out cash money to those brave and talented enough to work with the kits.AI voice library and create a video about it:
Closing Thoughts:
What better way to close than to let you, reader, know why exactly I effs with kits? Why do I do these competitions? Why am I messing with their AI voice models? Here’s a quick list:
- To practice & sharpen my skills as a producer; anything I make, I can release on my own regardless of if I win the competition with the track or not, and that’s how I approach working with every sample kit I touch. I’m getting better all the time, and I’m building up my personal library of releasable music.
- To get my music heard by this producer community, who have been supportive and right beside me in taking on these challenges.
- To get heard by the artists/producers behind the contests. They are listening, and here’s an IN for a possible collaboration.
- For the unique prizes that come with each contest. A successful music career is a game of being everywhere all the time; the more ears and circles i can reach, the better.
- To collaborate with artists I couldn’t otherwise get close to. This is a big one! The way I see it, kits is the perfect place for any combination artist/producer/songwriters to really make shit happen. Here’s my track featuring AI vocals from TK (his approval is still pending), and there’s much more on the way on the AI front from me.
Kits is an inspiring place to create, connect, and grow, and a community that I really cherish. Come find out for yourself, and hit me up if you have any questions about it all!
xo C