Spotify has launched its pioneering deal with the world’s three biggest recording companies to build artificial intelligence music production tools. Spotify says it hopes to create AI tools with artists’ rights at the forefront and ensure them an equal pay deal.
The agreement unites Spotify and Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group, the giants that dominate the majority of the world’s music industry. Along with the collaboration comes the involvement of Merlin, the music rights firm, and Believe, the digital music company.
Though Spotify hasn’t said precisely what these AI-powered tools will entail, the company claims to already be working on its first products. Artists’ key requirement? They will get to decide whether they want to be part of the deal.
Opt-in is important here because the industry is fundamentally at odds regarding AI. Superstars such as Dua Lipa, Sir Elton John, and Sir Paul McCartney openly censured the AI industry for training its models on songs by musicians without obtaining consent or paying royalties.
Spotify Tries to Set an Ethical Standard with New AI Payment Model
Spotify is attempting to do something different. According to the company, it will be paying artists, songwriters, and rights holders via “upfront agreements, “not the strategy of doing what they want to do and “seeking forgiveness afterward.” “Technology should always serve artists, not the other way around,” said Spotify’s co-president Alex Norstrom.
Not all believe this is cause to celebrate among musicians. Opponents fear the influx of AI-created material on Spotify will make the already minuscule percentage of revenue human artists receive through streams thinner.
Max Bonanno, on behalf of MidCitizen Entertainment, an artist management firm from New Orleans, did not pull any punches. He stated that the AI has “polluted the creative ecosystem” and AI-written songs have “watered down the already minimal cut of revenue artists get from streaming royalties.”
It is a legitimate concern. Already with millions of songs competing to be heard by Spotify subscribers, adding AI-created songs could make life harder still for real musicians to be heard and earn enough income.
However, some campaigners view the alliance positively. Ed Newton-Rex, the founder of Fairly Trained, an advocacy group campaigning against unfair AI practices, celebrated the announcement.
“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. “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.” He cautioned that “the devil will be in the detail,” but called it an eventual step to a more ethical artificial intelligence industry.
How AI Already Shapes Music on Spotify, Despite the Platform’s Stance on AI-Generated Songs
Spotify has consistently insisted it doesn’t make its own songs by using artificial intelligence. But the app already uses artificial intelligence to various extents. Its popular features like the personalized “daylist” and AI DJ, are fueled by machine learning to learn your taste in music and create individualized playlists.
The platform also included AI-generated songs, but recently added new rules requiring artists to disclose AI use and not to produce songs imitating real artists. A viral song released in 2023 featuring AI-voiced imitations of Drake and The Weeknd’s songs has been removed from the subscription.
Spotify also points out that artificial intelligence is already incorporated within the production of modern music. Autotune programs, mixing tools, and mastering all consist of some sort of artificial intelligence. And The Beatles used AI on the Grammy Award-winning song “Now and Then,” released in 2023, which cleaned the vocals on an old tape of John Lennon.
Warner Music Group Chief on the Necessity of New AI Licensing Deals
Warner Music Group chief Robert Kyncl highlighted the need to get licensing of AI right from the beginning. “We’ve been consistently focused on making sure AI works for artists and songwriters, not against them,” he said.
“That means collaborating with partners who understand the necessity for new AI licensing deals that protect and compensate rightsholders and the creative community.”
As the music industry struggles with the pace of technological change, the collaboration could provide key benchmarks on how human creativity and AI exist together. Whether it actually places artists first is still to be determined but at least the discussion is beginning to start with artists at the table and not shut out.
