HYPH allows users to create original songs by taking music from the app’s library and customizing it by adding instrumentals like bass, lead guitar, strings, drums and piano, or a voice recording of them singing. Users can choose music based on genre or mood.

HYPH will be available in the U.S. via an invitation this fall. The app is slated for a Spring 2023 launch and will be available on Android and iOS devices.

Along with sharing to social media platforms, users can also share their creations in the app with a backdrop of their chosen photo or video. The music-creation-centered social media app will also let users take songs made by other users and republish them with new edits.
The New York City-based startup was founded this year by entrepreneurs including Max Renard, Anthony Kennedy Shriver and Alexander Dessauer. It raised $26 million in seed funding from private investors. The company aims to launch an app that allows everyone with a smartphone to “create professional-quality music,” HYPH wrote in its announcement.

“HYPH will do for music creation what smartphone cameras did for photography, which provided anyone with a smartphone the ability to produce quality photos without the financial commitment and time previously required,” Renard said.

Renard notes that HYPH is targeted at Gen Z, a “hands-on generation who want to be a part of the creation process.” A recent survey found that 45% of Gen Z wants to make money creating content.

The HYPH team says that the purpose of the forthcoming app isn’t for creators to make money as professional musicians but to have fun making songs and sharing them with friends. HYPH owns the rights to all songs created on its app, but the company plans to eventually share the proceeds with song creators and music contributors.

In-app ads will make HYPH accessible and free for all users. However, it will have paid features and the option to remove ads for a fee. Those premium options will range from $0.99 to $29.99, the company told TechCrunch. Renard notes that HYPH doesn’t rely on AI-generated music, instead providing a catalog of songs recorded by session musicians.