Edward Newton Rex

Keynote Speaker

Edward Newton Rex's Biography

Ed Newton-Rex is an entrepreneur, musician and one of the world’s leading experts and speakers on artificial intelligence and creativity. Ed founded Jukedeck, the first tech startup in the field of artificially intelligent music composition, which in 2019 was acquired by ByteDance, the company behind social me-dia giant TikTok. He ran TikTok’s AI lab in London and is now the Product Director for Europe at TikTok. Ed is well placed to speak about AI and creativity, digital disruption and the dynamic changes across the digital media landscape.

Having graduated from Cambridge University in 2010 with a Double-Starred First in Music, Ed learnt to code in order to start Jukedeck and built the company’s first AI technology himself, with investment from Cambridge University. Jukedeck developed patented software that autonomously composed original mu-sic on demand, allowing non-musicians to easily create rights-cleared music in seconds. The technology was used to create more than a million pieces of music, which were used as backing music in online vide-os, ads, TV and radio shows, podcasts and games. Jukedeck won a number of awards, including a Cannes Innovation Lion.

Ed is also a composer and arranger, with his music published by Boosey & Hawkes and Novello. He has composed music for various choirs, groups and festivals, including the King's Singers, the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, and the BBC Radio 3 broadcast from the Edington Festival, written the music for plays at theatres including the Southwark Playhouse, and arranged music for BBC Radio 1Xtra.

Ed has been named one of Business Insider’s 30 most creative people in UK tech and is one of 20:40’s Leaders of the Future, announced at the House of Lords in 2019. He has made a number of media ap-pearances discussing AI and creativity, including on the BBC and has spoken on the topic at a number of conferences including TEDx, Mobile World Congress and Slush. In 2020 he was on the judging panel for the International AI Song Contest. Ed is an Associate at the Cambridge Judge Business School and has written for The Independent and The Spectator.

Ed’s insights and humour have made him a compelling and popular keynote speaker and panel expert. Using audio and visual aids, his speeches and talks are invaluable for anyone eager to embrace and enjoy the new creative frontiers where technology and the arts combine - all brought to life by a cutting-edge exponent of AI and music, operating at the apex of technology and creativity.

Testimonials

"Ed Newton-Rex was an extremely well-received speaker at the Independent Publishers Guild's Spring Conference in 2018. He distilled complex content about Artificial Intelligence into an accessi-ble and engaging session that gave our delegates knowledge and ideas to make their businesses better."

Bridget Shine, Chief Executive, Independent Publishers Guild

"Ed is a very talented and inspiring speaker. He can explain complex concepts in easily under-standable termsand engages his audience. His summary of music history and technology paired with his experience in entrepreneurship was particularly impressive for our guests at the Sonophilia Spark in Frankfurt"

Seda Röder, Founder, Sonophilia

“Ed is an articulate and highly knowledgeable speaker, particularly when it comes to AI & creativity]. He presents with clarity and does a great job keeping audiences engaged. I really can’t recommend Ed highly enough.”

Ahmed Razek, BBC

“Please can you pass on our thanks to Ed. His talk today on AI and creativity was truly fascinating and real food for thought. Our audience thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Elise MacDonald, Joint Managing Director, Lux Events