Why I built UPCHART

UPCHART started as a feeling.

As AI-generated music began exploding across the internet, I was genuinely amazed by what creators were producing. Every day, incredible new tracks appeared — inventive, surprising. And I realised that most people don't even know how great AI music can be.

They hear musicians say it has no value because it takes little effort. As someone who spent the past six years learning to play the guitar, I understand why they might say that. Or they hear other people say it's 'slop' – as if it's all the same.

But music is music. We don't have to know how it is made or how much time it took to make to enjoy it. Some of the greatest songs in history were thrown together in minutes. And we don't care if there are millions of songs out there we don't like. It's the ones we do like that we care about.

What we really want to know is:

• Does this song make you feel something?

• Does it make you want to dance?

• Does it make you want to hit play again… and again… and again.

AI has unlocked an extraordinary wave of creativity. More music is being created than ever before. Genres are blending. New sounds are emerging. Artists are experimenting at a pace that would have been impossible just a few months ago.

But abundance creates noise. And noise makes discovery harder. Some truly brilliant tracks are being lost in an endless stream of uploads, feeds and algorithmic timelines. And listeners who want to explore AI music have no reliable way to answer a very human question: What’s actually great?

So, before building anything, I did something simple. I asked AI music creators across genres and styles, from casual experimenters to highly prolific artists:

• What challenges are you facing?

• What would help your music get noticed?

• What kind of discovery system would feel fair?

• What does success look like for you?

The answers kept pointing to the same underlying need: Not more tools. Not more hype. Better discovery. A way for genuinely loved music to rise.

So I built UpChart around that simple belief: Great music should rise because people genuinely love it. Not because of bots or easily-gamed plays, but because real listeners heard your song and took the time to rate it. Because they care.

AI music is evolving at extraordinary speed. The creativity is real. The talent is real. The emotion is real.

UpChart exists to help the very best music rise. If you’re a creator, a listener, a fan, or simply curious — I’d love you to be part of our journey. Because great music deserves to be discovered.

Mark Devlin is the CEO of UPCHART