LOS ANGELES & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TRASH has officially launched its AI-driven video creation platform that uses science to make it easy for anyone to create and share video from their phone. Bring your creative spirit, TRASH does the rest. TRASH does this by offloading the technical, time-consuming work of video editing to its proprietary AI, freeing people from the psychological block of a blank canvas so they can focus on the message or emotion they want to share. The result is great-looking, vibey videos that are a step above Stories.
TRASH was selected as a MidemLab 2020 finalist from a total of 226 submissions from 49 countries, and will pitch on June 5 during the Midem Digital Edition. TRASH was also chosen for and recently demoed at Snap Inc.’s Yellow accelerator program, presenting for an audience of mobile and social industry veterans on May 12. TRASH previously raised a $2.25 million pre-seed round from institutional venture funds in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Tokyo, including Precursor and Dream Machine. In addition, they won not only a National Science Foundation SBIR Phase I funding award, but also a prestigious Phase II.
Now out of beta, new additions to the TRASH platform include TRASH for Artists, a suite of features designed for independent musicians, allowing them to add their songs to the TRASH catalog and then easily create original video content, from promo clips to full-length music videos, with just one tap. Artists can tweak these videos until they completely capture their aesthetic, then post them to their own social channels to capture the attention of today’s video-minded music fans. In addition, TRASH for Artists provides data on the usage of an artist’s music in other TRASH videos.
Also new to TRASH are a wide variety of AI-powered video Styles, of which “music video” is one, that enable people to quickly create a video in a style; for example a recap, a story-style video, a hype moment, and more. Video Styles are not templates, they’re a collaboration with AI and a step beyond copying the exact format of another’s video like other services offer today. Because each person’s personal content is being edited in a style, every video is unique. People are the storytellers, so they get the final say on things like soundtrack and storyline, and TRASH is a creative partner helping them do the heavy lift. People can share videos to TRASH, where others can remix, react to, and share their favorite content. In addition, the new Music Video editing Style lets artists create one-tap full-length videos for tracks they have uploaded via TRASH for Artists, giving those without the budget the ability to create music videos as well as to inspire and engage with fans to see what new videos they make!
During the TRASH for Artists beta, 70 artists joined and uploaded music. You can watch all their videos at http://trash.app/musicvideos. The new “music video” channel launching today features artists including: Okayceci, Adam Oh, MARG, Shah, Eli Jas, DJ Volvox, Jennie Lawless, and Alfred Nomad. In addition, GRAMMY Award-nominated producer, songwriter, and post-funk stalwart D’Leau is sharing the footage from his solo track “01” so that fans can help finish the video with his very own remix channel titled “D’Leau” at http://trash.app/dleau. Up-and-coming songwriter and TikTok creator Okayceci is kicking off the remix challenge in D’Leau’s channel, and her own remix debut is forthcoming later this month. TRASH partnered with music collectives the Rattle in Los Angeles and Treble in New York City while in beta and is excited to launch today with artists like D’Leau and Okayceci.
“If you can take a Polaroid, you can use TRASH. Instant, vibey videos is what we do, which is why we’re excited to extend the platform for independent musicians who need tools like this more than ever before. Video is a critical component of dropping a track, and one of the richest ways to share your passion, vision, and message with the world. We’re making it easy to create in video so that everyone can participate and have a voice,” says Hannah Donovan, Founder and CEO of TRASH. “With video exploding on mobile, we’re in a music video renaissance, and there’s so much potential beyond what was invented by MTV. Artists can re-visualize back catalog tracks, tease new ones, ask their fans to join in and collaborate – plus, we have so much more coming. It’s been really exciting to see so many of our hypotheses validated during the private beta, and we wait to see how people use TRASH to push the format of mobile video now that it’s available to all.”
To sign up as an independent artist, visit http://artists.trash.app.
“I love that TRASH allows artists to have a dialogue with fans and listeners by including them in the process of making our music videos,” says D’Leau. “It’s a great way to connect and have a visual conversation with our audience.”
“So the first thing I like is that it’s super easy,” says Okayceci. “TRASH basically does all the editing for you so *whispers* you don’t have to. Second of all, there’s a big selection of music that you can pick and artists that are on the app. I’m one of them!”
TRASH was co-founded by Hannah Donovan — previously General Manager at Vine and an early employee at Last.fm — and computer vision scientist Dr. Geneviève Patterson (Brown University, Microsoft Research New England). After being selected for VC fund Betaworks’ Visioncamp accelerator program, they launched closed beta in June 2019, taking it live four months later in November. TRASH has received acclaim after presentations at major music industry conferences such as NY:LON Connect, where it won the People’s Choice Award, and NOLA MusicTech. TRASH was named App of the Day in Apple’s App Store at the end of March, and was selected for Apple’s Entrepreneur Camp in 2019.
For more information and to download the app, visit www.trash.app.
About TRASH
TRASH is an AI-driven video creation platform built on a deep tech engine and committed to using science to enable art. Launched in beta in June 2019 by co-founders Hannah Donovan and Dr. Geneviève Patterson, TRASH lets anyone participate in video by automating the most challenging technical aspects with its proprietary AI engine, allowing users to instantly create an edited mix that pairs the best parts of their own videos with high-quality music. People can then add their personal touch with simple options, resulting in videos that are a step above Stories on social. Nearly 60% of videos created are shared off-platform, and during the beta period of TRASH for Artists and Styles over the last 60 days, TRASH added 50k new users. People share their videos to TRASH where others can remix, react to, and share their favorite content. Independent musicians who write and record their own music can upload and manage their tracks via the TRASH for Artists website, and then use the app to create everything from short promotional teasers to full-length music videos, tweak them until they capture their aesthetic, and then post them to their social channels to capture the attention of today’s video-minded music fans. TRASH for Artists is supported by music advisors Vickie Nauman (licensing) and Will Boston (songwriter, label founder). Fans can remix these videos or create new content with their favorite tracks, while artists earn new listeners when their tracks are paired with user videos by TRASH’s AI. For more information, visit www.trash.app.
