Spotify says it’s working with labels on ‘responsible’ AI music tools

The recently-rumored AI partnership between Spotify and the major record labels is now a reality. The streaming service announced today that it’s entering into an agreement with Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Merlin, and Believe to develop “responsible AI products.” Unfortunately, your guess is as good as ours as to what exactly that means. Spotify didn’t detail any specific products in the works but said it was building a “state-of-the-art generative AI research lab and product team focused on developing technologies that reflect our principles and create breakthrough experiences for fans and artists.” Most of the press release is dedicated to vagaries and laying out the principles that will guide Spotify’s generative AI projects: * Partnerships with record labels, distributors, and music publishers: We’ll develop new products for artists and fans through upfront agreements, not by asking for forgiveness later. * Choice in participation: We recognize there’s a wide range of views on use of generative music tools within the artistic community. Therefore, artists and rightsholders will choose if and how to participate to ensure the use of AI tools aligns with the values of the people behind the music. * Fair compensation and new revenue: We will build products that create wholly new revenue streams for rightsholders, artists, and songwriters, ensuring they are properly compensated for uses of their work and transparently credited for their contributions. * Artist-fan connection: AI tools we develop will not replace human artistry. They will give artists new ways to be creative and connect with fans. We will leverage our role as the place where more than 700 million people already come to listen to music every month to ensure that generative AI deepens artist-fan connections. Spotify has already come under fire for its handling of AI slop proliferating on its platform, and its in-house AI products, like a personalized DJ and NotebookLM-powered 2024 Spotify Wrapped podcast, have been relatively limited so far. Also, many artists would argue that the company’s definition of “fair compensation” is laughable. And for all the press releases’ talk about how “copyright is essential,” Spotify has been on the defensive end of accusations of copyright infringement on multiple occasions.