Experimental Composer & AI Music Innovator; Creator of Holly+; Ars Electronica STARTS Prize Winner

Berlin, Germany
Live Event: $50,000 - $100,000 Virtual Event: Please Contact More Fee Info

Holly Herndon Biography

Holly Herndon is an American composer, musician, and sound artist whose work explores the intersection of electronic music, artificial intelligence, and digital ethics. Herndon received her MFA in electronic music and recording media from Mills College in Oakland, California, and her doctorate in composition from Stanford University's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics. While at Mills, she composed the vocal-generated piece "195," which earned her the Elizabeth Mills Crothers Award for best composer. Herndon's music frequently incorporates human singing voices, including her own, and is primarily computer-based, utilizing the visual programming language Max/MSP to create custom instruments and vocal processes.

Herndon's discography reflects a progression in experimental electronic music. Her debut album, "Movement," was released through RVNG Intl. On "Platform," she combined the intimacy of her voice and samples from everyday web browsing into songs that examine online privacy, voyeurism, and identity. Her third full-length album, "Proto," was a collaborative project involving a singing AI named Spawn—an artificial neural network trained to recognize and replicate human voices—developed with programmer Jules LaPlace and using Herndon's own singing voice. Spawn's voice was trained through call-and-response singing sessions with hundreds of vocalists, drawing on Herndon's choral background.

Beyond her studio work, Herndon is active in discussions on AI, artist rights, and digital identity. She developed Holly+, a protocol addressing concerns related to deepfakes and distributed identity play. Holly+ is a machine-learning instrument that converts audio files into Herndon's voice and has been presented at TED. Herndon and collaborator Mat Dryhurst received the Ars Electronica STARTS Prize for digital art for Holly+. Together, they launched Spawning, introducing the term "spawning" to describe generating media from a training set using machine learning and enabling artists to opt in or out of datasets used by AI art generators.

Herndon's work has received recognition in both music and visual art. Commissioned for the Whitney Biennial, her project xhairymutantx, created with Dryhurst, focuses on the training data behind AI models. Herndon and Dryhurst also debuted their solo show "The Call" at Serpentine in London, a project built around AI models trained on new recordings from the Sacred Harp collection of hymns, recorded with professional and community choirs from across the UK. They have been awarded Austria's Digital Human Rights Award and the Kairos Prize. Herndon holds a doctorate in computer music from Stanford University and is a fellow at the Berlin Artistic Research Programme. Through her music, installations, advocacy, and public speaking, Herndon is recognized as a leading thinker on creativity and humanity in the era of artificial intelligence.

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Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 06/01/2026.

Holly Herndon Videos

Holly Herndon - Home [Official Video] - YouTube

Holly Herndon - Home [Official Video] - YouTube

Holly Herndon (RBMA Tokyo 2014 Lecture) - YouTube

Holly Herndon (RBMA Tokyo 2014 Lecture) - YouTube

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  • What are the speaker fees for Holly Herndon

    Speaking fees for Holly Herndon, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Holly Herndon are $50,000 - $100,000 for live events and available upon request for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Holly Herndon, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.
  • What topics does Holly Herndon speak about?

    Holly Herndon is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, Entertainment, Futurism, Music, Performing Arts, TED
  • Where does Holly Herndon travel from?

    Holly Herndon generally travels from Berlin, Germany, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.
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Holly Herndon is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics. The estimated speaking fee range to book Holly Herndon for your event is $50,000 - $100,000. Holly Herndon generally travels from Berlin, Germany and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are will.i.am, UMI Wilson, Kam Franklin, Lizzy McAlpine and Ledisi. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Holly Herndon for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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