On Thursday, Spotify announced it will partner with Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, as well as independent licensing agency Merlin and digital music company Believe to jointly develop “responsible” AI products.
Although the company did not confirm any specific AI tools under development, Spotify said in a statement that it is making “significant investments in AI research and product development,” including a new AI research lab and product team.
“Since the smartphone, AI is the most significant technological change, and it’s reshaping the way music is created and experienced,” said Gustav Söderström, Co-President, in a statement. “At Spotify, we want to partner with the music industry to build this future together, guided by clear guidelines with deep respect for creators, just as we did during the rampant piracy era.”
Spotify said it hopes to include more copyright owners and publishers in the future.
The company has already integrated AI features into its application, including the AI DJ and AI playlists. The playlist was launched in a beta version in September and can generate personalized playlists based on text prompts.
Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge sent a memo to employees on Monday stating that the company “will not license any model which replicates an artist’s voice or enables the generation of new music using an artist’s name, image, or identity without consent.”
“Partnering with strategic partners like Spotify is essential so that we can drive generative AI products in a thriving business ecosystem where artists, songwriters, fans, music companies, and tech companies can all thrive,” Grainge said in a statement.
This partnership comes less than a month after Spotify’s crackdown on AI “junk content” amid the growing threat of viral AI-generated music. The streaming platform has removed more than 75 million “junk tracks” in the past 12 months and has introduced policies to protect artists from AI impersonation and deception.
AI-generated band “The Velvet Sundown” became a focal point this summer after reaching 1 million monthly streams. The band later clarified on its profile page that it is a “synthetic music project” and is currently a verified artist on Spotify with over 264,000 monthly listeners.
Spotify outlined four principles that this partnership will focus on: working with record labels, distributors, and music publishers; consent; fair compensation and new revenue; and connecting artists and fans.
