IBM Watsonx GRAMMY Awards
How the Recording Academy improves the Grammy Awards fan experience with IBM Watsonx
The Recording Academy aims to preserve music’s permanent place in our society by recognizing excellence in the recording arts and sciences via the GRAMMYs. IBM will be there once again as the biggest recorded artists in the world walk the red carpet at the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards.
Like other renowned cultural sports and entertainment events, the GRAMMYs faced a similar commercial dilemma this year, in today’s increasingly fragmented media world, producing cultural impact entails delivering appealing content across numerous digital platforms. It’s a difficult assignment to honor the accomplishments and life stories of over a thousand candidates in around 100 categories.
IBM collaborated to create GRAMMY Awards
For this reason, the Recording Academy and IBM collaborated to create a content supply chain that would allow for simple review and creative flexibility while saving hundreds of hours of research, writing, and production time. Utilizing IBM Watsonx’s creative powers, the system offers fascinating insights into the personal histories and professional achievements of well-known GRAMMY nominees.
A content engine powered by generative AI and reliable data
The watsonx.ai component of watsonx is home to a potent large language model (LLM), which is used in this year’s solution. The model was trained using trusted, private data from the Recording Academy, which included brand rules and artist bios and tales from the GRAMMYs website and archives.
The Recording Academy may create a broad range of material using natural language prompts using an AI material Builder dashboard. This content can subsequently be posted on social media or uploaded to the Grammy.com website.
Automating social asset generation using intelligence in GRAMMY Awards
In order to engage with fans and publicize the event throughout the run-up to the GRAMMY Awards and on the night of the show, the Recording Academy had to increase the scope of their social media presence. However, content creation was very manual and time-consuming up to this point. Watsonx AI Stories is the answer. The editorial staff can quickly and simply build rich materials to be shared in Facebook reels, Instagram stories, and Tik Tok videos using the AI Content Builder dashboard.
Editorial team members may choose templates including nominees or categories with different layouts and branding using the AI Stories interface. These templates use authorized pictures from the Recording Academy’s asset bank. Next, they decide which artist or award category to highlight, the content of the piece (biographical details, GRAMMY accomplishments, charitable causes, etc.) and which subjects not to include in the final product.
When a user hits the “generate” button, the true magic begins. AI stories are written using headlines, bullet points, one-liners, questions, and calls to action as the wrap-up elements. Any of these outputs may be readily modified manually and regenerated to provide other phrasings. After selecting “publish,” the text is converted into a video file and made ready for download and publication.
Improving the online experience in real time on GRAMMY Awards presentation
Beyond the network broadcast, the GRAMMY Awards presentation is an impressive spectacle. Global fans will also be watching a range of livestreams on grammy.com, including as the Premiere Ceremony (where most category winners are announced),GRAMMY Awards Live From The Red Carpet, backstage moments captured behind the scenes, celebrities pulling up in a “limo cam,” and more.
This year, underneath the livestream, there will be a widget called “AI Stories with IBM Watsonx” that will provide educational textual material about the artists and categories that are being recognized. The editorial team uses the same interface as for creating social assets to produce these insights via the AI Content Builder dashboard. The widget’s default display consists of brief headlines and interesting facts, but users may click through to learn more.
Tyler Sidell, Technical Program Director of IBM Sports and Entertainment Partnerships, adds, “This year the widget lets fans dive much deeper and read more about their favorites. In previous years, they provided one or two insights per artist.”
The benefit of IBM: Skilled direction and execution
There’s more to responsibly using a game-changing technology like generative AI than merely typing some code. Complete proficiency is needed, from preparation to implementation. over this reason, the Recording Academy and IBM Consulting have been working together over the last seven years to use the IBM Garage Methodology to kickstart technological projects.
Working with the customer, this outcome-first, human-centered methodology is used to design, implement, and manage processes. The procedure fosters techniques, tools, and talent to quickly translate ideas into company value while also accelerating digital transformation and facilitating innovation.
IBM Consulting worked with a number of Recording Academy stakeholders throughout the GRAMMY preparation process, often meeting with teams from the digital, marketing, and IT departments. Additionally, IBM will be present on-site on the big night as a production and editing team extension.
With the help of IBM Consulting, IBM Garage, IBM Watsonx, and the Recording Academy digital team, over 5 million music lovers across the globe are treated to an immersive digital experience.
