Duolingo partners with Sony Music to bring pop songs to its music course

Duolingo just made its music course a lot more fun. The language-learning platform has partnered with Sony Music to include over 60 pop songs as part of its curriculum.

Duolingo expanded into its music course last year. Its music course teaches users the foundations of music like rhythm, note lengths, music reading, and ear training in the same gamified fashion it teaches languages like High Valyrian. Students can expect to learn music theory and comprehension on a digital mobile piano. It hopes that the integration of pop songs by the likes of Hozier and Pharrell Williams will make the learning process more engaging and increase retention and comprehension.

"At Duolingo, we're constantly looking for ways to make learning more effective and entertaining," George Audi, head of business development at Duolingo, said in a press release. "We're partnering with Sony Music, a leader in the music industry, to bring our learners a library of chart-topping songs they can learn to read and play."

Duolingo became popular thanks to its quick, daily language lessons that pester you to uphold your "streak" by using the app every day. It's now the highest-grossing app in the Education category on both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Duolingo serves millions of users and offers courses in over 40 languages.

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In January, it cut 10 percent of its contractors, replacing them with generative AI. Prior to its music course, the educational platform branched out from languages into math lessons.