Music Industry Moves: Whitney Houston Estate Partners With AI Startup Moises for Concert Experience

The iconic voice of Whitney Houston will be brought back to the stage through an innovative concert experience titled "The Voice of Whitney," powered by artificial intelligence. This groundbreaking tour is a collaboration between Houston’s estate, Primary Wave Music, and Park Avenue Artists. Using stem separation technology from the platform Moises, the production team has extracted Houston’s isolated vocal tracks from original studio recordings. These will be paired with live orchestral accompaniment across a seven-city tour, merging archival visuals with her timeless vocal performances.

Geraldo Ramos, CEO of Moises, emphasized the technical complexity involved, stating, “Our foremost challenge was ensuring every subtle inflection and emotional depth in Whitney’s voice remained intact—a feat that would have been impossible not long ago.” Pat Houston, executor of the estate, noted that the project reflects Whitney’s own dedication to artistic integrity. The tour aims to honor her legacy while introducing new generations to her music. This use of AI in performance represents a growing trend in how technology is reshaping posthumous tributes to music legends.

According to Ross Michaels, co-president of Park Avenue Artists, the initiative sets a new standard for blending innovation with musical heritage. “We believe this model will inspire similar projects that leverage technology to celebrate iconic artists,” he explained. The tour will visit renowned venues including Cincinnati Music Hall, the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, and the Mesa Arts Center, with performances running from September to November.

In other industry news, NPR Music has appointed Sonali Mehta as its new executive director, effective September 22. Mehta brings extensive experience from roles at YouTube, Arista Records, and Warner Music Group’s ADA, where she served as chief of staff. She expressed enthusiasm for NPR’s role in music discovery, particularly through platforms like Tiny Desk, which has become a cultural touchstone for breaking new artists.

Meanwhile, former TikTok music lead William Gruger has joined Duetti as DSP and partner marketing lead. Gruger, whose career includes influential tenures at Tidal, Twitter, Vine, and Billboard, will now focus on maximizing artist visibility and catalog performance across leading streaming services.

Concord Music Publishing has signed Grammy-winning songwriter Amy Wadge to a worldwide deal. Wadge, renowned for co-writing Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud,” has contributed to 16 Grammy-nominated projects and is currently expanding into musical theater while writing for artists like FKA Twigs and the Jonas Brothers. Kim Frankiewicz, EVP of A&R at Concord, praised Wadge’s dynamic creativity and expressed excitement about supporting her evolving career across multiple genres.