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Spotify, the world’s biggest music streaming service, has announced it is working with major labels on using artificial intelligence (AI) in a “responsible” way.<\/p>\n
The firm said it wanted to make AI tools which “put artists and songwriters first” and respect their copyright. <\/p>\n
The streaming giant will license music from the three record labels which make up the vast majority of the industry: Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group.<\/p>\n
However, critics say adding more AI to the platform would result in less streaming revenue for human artists.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Also part of the deal are music rights firm Merlin and digital music company Believe.<\/p>\n
It is unclear exactly what these AI tools will look like, but Spotify says it has already started working on its first products.<\/p>\n
Spotify said it recognised there was a “wide range of views on use of generative music tools within the artistic community” and it planned to allow artists to choose if they wanted to participate.<\/p>\n
It comes as a number of high-profile musicians such as Dua Lipa, Sir Elton John<\/a> and Sir Paul McCartney<\/a> have spoken out against AI companies training generative AI tools on their music without payment or permission.<\/p>\n Spotify said it would make sure artists, songwriters and rights holders were “properly compensated for uses of their work and transparently credited for their contributions”.<\/p>\n These would be through “upfront agreements” and not “asking for forgiveness later”.<\/p>\n “Technology should always serve artists, not the other way around,” said the firm’s co-president Alex Norstrom.<\/p>\n New Orleans-based artist management company MidCitizen Entertainment said AI has “polluted the creative ecosystem”.<\/p>\n Managing Partner Max Bonanno said AI-generated songs have “diluted the already limited share of revenue that artists receive from streaming royalties”.<\/p>\n But the announcement was welcomed by Ed Newton-Rex, founder of Fairly Trained, which campaigns for AI firms to respect creators’ rights.<\/p>\n “Lots of the AI industry is exploitative – AI built on people’s work without permission, served up to users who get no say in the matter,” he told BBC News. <\/p>\n “This is different – AI features built fairly, with artists’ permission, presented to fans as a voluntary add-on rather than an inescapable funnel of AI slop.<\/p>\n “The devil will be in the detail, but it looks like a move towards a more ethical AI industry, which is sorely needed.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Spotify has always maintained it does not create any music itself, using AI or otherwise.<\/p>\n However, it does use the technology to create custom playlists, such as the “daylist” and its AI DJ.<\/p>\n It also hosts AI-generated music<\/a> on its platform, and recently announced<\/a> it was cracking down on artists who did not disclose the use of AI or who used it to impersonate real artists.<\/p>\n For example, a viral AI-generated song using voice clones of Drake and The Weeknd was removed from the streaming service<\/a> in 2023.<\/p>\n The company also said AI is now used in many stages of the song-writing process – such as autotune, mixing and mastering.<\/p>\n The Beatles’ Grammy Award-winning last single Now and Then, released in 2023, used AI<\/a> to clean up John Lennon’s voice from an old audio recording.<\/p>\n “We’ve been consistently focused on making sure AI works for artists and songwriters, not against them,” said Warner Music Group boss Robert Kyncl. <\/p>\n “That means collaborating with partners who understand the necessity for new AI licensing deals that protect and compensate rightsholders and the creative community.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n