It looks like Spotify has jumped on board the AI music gravy train. It was announced yesterday (21 May) that the Swedish streaming giant has inked a deal with Universal Music that will enable users to create AI covers and remixes of songs from participating artists and songwriters.
The new tool will apparently be a paid add-on for Spotify Premium subscribers and, once tracks have been created, all Spotify users will be able to stream them. However, Spotify has not yet revealed any details about the AI technology that will be used in the new feature, nor mentioned a launch date.
“Solving hard problems for music is what Spotify does, and fan-made covers and remixes are next,” Alex Norström, Spotify’s Co-CEO said in a statement. “What we’re building is grounded in consent, credit, and compensation for the artists and songwriters that take part.
“Through each technological transformation, we have worked together with Sir Lucian (Grainge, chairman of Universal) 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.”
For his part, Grainge said in his statement: “The most valuable innovations in the music business always bring artists and fans closer together. That principle is at the heart of this pioneering AI-enabled superfan initiative, which is designed to support human artistry, deepen fan relationships, and create additional revenue opportunities for artists and songwriters… this initiative is firmly artist-centric, rooted in responsible AI, and will drive growth for the entire ecosystem.”
It's the latest agreement that Universal has struck regarding AI-generated music. Last October it settled its copyright lawsuit against Udio and agreed to collaborate on a licensed AI music creation platform. The idea of this, it seems, was to create a ‘walled garden’ outside of which AI music cannot be downloaded or distributed. A similar approach seems to be behind the Spotify deal.
It should be reiterated that the Spotify system is opt-in and will only be available for songs from artists and songwriters who have specifically agreed to take part. So, whilst it might well generate a whole avalanche of AI slop, at least it would be legal AI slop that the original artists are being paid for.
