Love music? Soon your pictures will sing your favourite tunes on Snapchat, thanks to new AR music filters.
Snap Inc., the company behind the popular social media platform Snapchat yesterday announced a major collaboration with Sony Music Entertainment. The partnership will bring Sony’s music into Snapchat’s Music Library. Soon, select tracks from the music company will be available on Snapchat for the users to enjoy.
The primary goal of this partnership, however, is to introduce a new AR music lens to Snapchat. Reportedly titled “Sound Lenses” these new AR filters will be launched on the app shortly. These audio-driven filters will come in two different flavours. The first one is a lip-syncing AR lens that will make any of your photos, or that of any other person, appear as if they are singing along to the tune. Imagine your favourite selfie belting out your favourite jam! That sure does sound exciting. However, the second lens is even more promising. Titled “Cameo Sound Lenses”, these AR filters will display a variety of visual effects on your photos and videos, quite similar to the ones you see on animated music videos.
The announcement revealed that, as per the partnership agreement, these new AR music lenses will feature music from several Sony labels, showcasing the artists from Sony Music Entertainment. However, no specifics on the artists have been yet announced. Like other Snapchat lenses, the Sound Lenses will also be accessible via the Lens Carousel of Snapchat.
In the official press release, Snap Inc. has mentioned that the objective of this new project is to help Snapchat users to express themselves better with sound. As per recent data, over 200 million people across the world engage with augmented reality every day via this platform. Adding music to the engagement will positively enhance the user experience, says the announcement. Given the observation, Snapchat has decided to add Sony’s music to its AR lenses and try experimenting with formats.
Snapchat has been a trailblazer in the field of augmented reality. By introducing the AR lenses, the platform has made the new technology a household experience and in turn, has revolutionised the AR experience for its users. From simple animated face filters to exotic backgrounds, the AR filters available on Snapchat have only improved with time. It never failed to grab the latest trends and events and turn them into popular filters. This is perhaps the biggest reason behind Snapchat’s popularity.
In the last few years, Snapchat has expanded its collection of AR lenses. Recently, the company introduced its third iteration of Snap Spectacles, the next-generation AR glasses designed specifically for Snap creators. However, the tool is only accessible by a handful of prominent Snap creators. Spectacle 3, as the latest iteration is known, uses Snap Inc.’s proprietary Snap Spatial Engine to create 3D AR visuals in real-time. This is the first time the company has achieved to do this.
Sound Lense will soon be available via Lens Carousel for free on Android and iOS.
