Spotify partners with major labels to build responsible AI music tools

Spotify has announced a collaboration with the three major record labels – Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group – to develop a new suite of artificial intelligence tools.

The initiative aims to harness AI in a “responsible” way that respects copyright and prioritizes the interests of artists and songwriters.

The partnership is a direct response to escalating controversy over generative AI training, which has drawn public criticism from high-profile artists including Sir Paul McCartney and Dua Lipa. The core problem the tools are designed to solve is exploitation and the lack of transparency in the current AI music landscape.

Spotify’s approach will involve new upfront licensing agreements that ensure artists, songwriters and rights holders are “properly compensated for uses of their work and transparently credited for their contributions.”

The move comes amid an unprecedented influx of synthetic content across the industry. While Spotify maintains it does not create music using AI, it hosts this content and has recently cracked down on music that impersonates real artists or fails to disclose its origin.

Rival platform Deezer reported that nearly a third of all new tracks uploaded daily are now AI-generated, fuelling fears that, as Max Bonanno of MidCitizen Entertainment states, AI has “polluted the creative ecosystem” and “diluted the already limited share of revenue” for human creators.

Spotify Co-President Alex Norstrom stressed the company’s guiding philosophy: “Technology should always serve artists, not the other way around.” The streaming giant said it would make participation in these new tools voluntary, allowing artists to choose if they wish to license their work for AI development.

This attempt at building an ethical framework was cautiously welcomed by proponents, with Ed Newton-Rex of Fairly Trained calling it a necessary move toward a “more ethical AI industry.” The success of the collaboration will hinge on whether these new licensing deals can genuinely protect and compensate creators while integrating AI as a helpful tool rather than an inevitable competitor.

Non-existent AI artists raking in millions from Spotify and Deezer