Berklee Convenes Leaders in AI, Music for Inaugural AIMS Symposium

Berklee Convenes Leaders in AI, Music for Inaugural AIMS Symposium The three-day event puts musicians at the center of the future of music creation, ethics, and the industry, featuring performances by Jordan Rudess, L'Rain, and Berklee students.

May 13, 2026

By

Media Relations Staff

Jordan Rudess will perform at Berklees inaugural AI Music Summit.

Image courtesy of the artist

Berklee College of Music announces the full lineup of keynote speakers, panelists, workshops, and topics for its expanded AIMS (AI Music Summit), the annual symposium hosted by the Berklee Emerging Artistic Technology Lab (BEATL), taking place June 3-5, 2026, on Berklee's Boston campus. A hackathon will follow June 6-7. The announcement was made by Mark Ethier, executive director of BEATL and Jonathan Wyner, BEATL's head of artistic technology and the former AES president.

The multi-day gathering of musicians, technologists, researchers, educators, and legal experts will explore how artificial intelligence is actively reshaping music creation, production, performance, education, and rights infrastructure. Putting the musician at the center, it will also explore how AI is entering everyday practice, with an emphasis on workflows, artist impact, and the ethical questions shaping the future of creative work. Presentations will offer a first look at some of the newest developments in AI and music, with innovators sharing emerging tools, technologies, and creative practices.

AIMS is built around the idea that musicians should have a voice shaping new technologies and not just responding to them, explained Wyner.

What makes this moment important is not just the speed of innovation, but the fact that creative practice is already changing inside writing rooms, studios, and classrooms. As educators and music professionals, it's our responsibility to drive conversations and take a critical look at how rapidly evolving technologies are affecting our industry, added Ethier.

Keynote speakers include musician and AI-art pioneer Holly Herndon, who explores new authorship and consent in AI-generated media, and AI:OK founder Dr. Martin Clancy, who examines ethics and how AI is reshaping the definition of musicianship. The summit will also include a conversation between music industry strategist and Berklee professor Drew Thurlow and composer and Emmy winner Lucas Cantor Santiago on creativity, authorship, and industry transformation. Also featured are Elizabeth Moody, partner at Granderson Des Rochers, LLP, and Carletta Higginson of Warner Music Group, who are helping shape the deals and legal frameworks at the center of AI's impact on the music industry.

The 2026 program includes applied workshops, research presentations, industry panels, live demonstrations, sessions on pedagogy, and an evening concert on June 4 at the Berklee Performance Center with performances by Dream Theater keyboardist and music technologist Jordan Rudess, experimental artist and producer L'Rain, and Berklee students. On June 6 and 7, Berklee will hold a hackathon in partnership with Music Hackspace.

Leading voices from companies and institutions shaping the future of music technology at AIMS include Adobe, Google, MIT Media Lab, Splice, Ableton, Suno, Sony AI, Warner Music Group, iZotope, Native Instruments, Moises, ElevenLabs, Universal Audio, and others.

AIMS has attracted a diverse set of sponsors including:

Diamond: Adobe

Platinum: Universal Audio, Ace Studio, Spotify

Creative Labor & Artist Support Sponsor: Suno

Gold: ElevenLabs

Silver: Splice, Pro Sound Effects

Wednesday Night Reception Sponsor: Autotune

Coffee Sponsors: Moises, File Eaters, LANDR, SoundFlow

For a full list of programming and speakers, please visit the AIMS conference program.

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