“There is room for premium offerings, and others that are more low-end,” says the head of a sound design agency

All summer long, we interview employees, freelancers, and business leaders about their relationship with generative artificial intelligence. How do they use it, how do it change their professional practices? Today, Laurent Cochini, CEO of the “Sixième son” agency.

Laurent Cochini is 39 years old. Originally from Marseille, he works at Sixth soundan SME with around forty employees, specializing in brand sound identities. He joined in 2008 as an intern, after studying ethnomusicology.

Today, he runs this agency that is behind famous musical signatures, such as those of SNCF, Aéroports de Paris or Française des Jeux. Generative artificial intelligence, he says, is already used daily by creatives.

“Artificial intelligence will help us, for example, as an assistant, to scan what all the players in an industry are going to do. For example, when we create the music for the Roland-Garros tennis tournament, I will be able, thanks to AI, to list the music used in the world of sport or by other Grand Slam tournaments.”

Laurent Cochini

to franceinfo

“We can then listen to them and form our own opinion, adds Laurent Cochiniwhat is interesting and what is less so. This saves us time in the competitive study phase.”

This allows you to add an instrument or transpose a piece into another style, in no time. However, AI is never used for the original creation.

“Our job is to create original, unique, tailor-made music. I have to allow my clients, the brands, to have a peaceful exploitation of this creation. However, music generated 100% by AI does not allow this peaceful exploitation, because it has no legal status, and it feeds on music that already exists.”

Laurent Cochini has no doubt that some customers may be tempted by new artificial intelligence services, such as Suno and Udio, which allow you to generate tracks or songs in just a few clicks, without any musical skills. But he is not particularly worried about the future.

“Given the almost free nature of these software programs today, some must be tempted. I think there is room for premium offers and others that are much more low-end.”

“I am convinced that there will always be jobs in artistic direction and creation, human beings who will be there to advise, to give meaning, a style, something unique, and to advise brands too. I don’t think that will disappear.”

Laurent Cochini, general manager of the Sixième son agency

to franceinfo

His only certainty, ultimately, is that in five years, his agency will use generative artificial intelligence even more. “Not like RoboCop, he said, who is not smart. More like Iron Man, who uses technology to surpass himself.”