【AI前沿】Spotify and Universal Music strike deal allowing fan-made AI covers and remixes

Watch out,Suno. Spotify on Thursday announced it has partnered with Universal Music Group (UMG) to allow fans to use generative AI technology to create covers and remixes of their favorite songs. The tool will launch as a paid add-on available only to Spotify’s Premium subscribers and will offer a revenue share with participating artists for the AI-generated music based on their work.The company did not share pricing or a launch date for the new tool, only that the two companies had come to a licensing agreement. However, Spotify hadteasedits plans last year, noting that it was working with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group, Merlin, and Believe to develop artist-first AI products.The AI tools would be created through “upfront agreements, not by asking for forgiveness later,” Spotify said at the time, an obvious swipe at other players in the space, like Suno.Among the principles Spotify outlined: artists and rightsholders should be able to choose if and how they participate in AI tools, and if they do, they should be fairly compensated.“Solving hard problems for music is what Spotify does, and fan-made covers and remixes are next. What we’re building is grounded in consent, credit, and compensation for the artists and songwriters that take part,” said Spotify co-CEO Alex Norström, in a statement about the UMG agreement. “Through each technological transformation, we have worked together with Sir Lucian [Chairman & CEO, Universal Music Group] and his team to evolve the music ecosystem into a richer, more beneficial experience for fans and a more rewarding outcome for artists and songwriters.”UMG Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge, meanwhile, touted the development as a way for artists to deepen their fan relationships while also creating additional revenue opportunities. There’s no word yet on which UMG artists have agreed to participate.While services like Suno and Udio have been pioneers in the AI music space, they moved forward on shaky legal ground when building their AI music-making tools. Unsurprisingly, the major labels quickly sued. In November, Suno ended upsettlinga $500 million lawsuit with Warner Music Group, which came shortly after Universal Music Group (UMG) had settled its own suit with Udio.Today, Suno isstill facing copyright claimsfrom UMG and Sony Music,among others. Udio, meanwhile, hassettledwith Warner Music and UMG, but is still working to settle with Sony.Seeing demand for this type of activity from consumers, Spotify went straight to the labels for a deal of its own. UMG may be the first of many label partnerships to come, though the company didn’t outright say so.The news was shared amid a slew of Investor Day announcements from Spotify on Thursday, which also included anAI-powered audiobook creation tool,AI-powered features for podcasters, a desktop appto produce personal podcasts via AI, andreserved concert tickets for top fans.TopicsAI,AI,ai music,Apps,Media & Entertainment,Spotify,universal music groupWhen you purchase through links in our articles,we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.Sarah PerezConsumer News EditorSarah has worked as a reporter for TechCrunch since August 2011. She joined the company after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to her work as a reporter, Sarah worked in I.T. across a number of industries, including banking, retail and software.You can contact or verify outreach from Sarah by [email protected] via encrypted message at sarahperez.01 on Signal.View BioMay 27Athens, GreeceStrictlyVC Athens is up next. Hear unfiltered insights straight from Europe’s tech leaders and connect with the people shaping what’s ahead. Lock in your spot before it’s gone.REGISTER NOWMost PopularJensen Huang says he’s found a ‘brand new’ $200B market for NvidiaJulie BortSam Altman makes ‘mic drop’ offer to every Y Combinator startupJulie BortIntuit to lay off over 3,000 employees to refocus on AIRam IyerGoogle Search as you know it is overSarah PerezElon Musk has lost his lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAITim FernholzUsers turn to jailbreaking their older Kindles as Amazon ends supportLauren ForristalOpenAI launches ChatGPT for personal finance, will let you connect bank accountsIvan Mehta