FameEX Hot Topics | Universal Music Group Commands Streaming Services to Prohibit Music Generated by AI

Universal Music Group (UMG), one of the biggest music industry players, has raised concerns about AI-generated music that uses copyrighted songs. The company has instructed music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music to prevent AI services from copying melodies and lyrics from copyrighted songs. UMG has been requesting takedowns of AI-generated songs that infringe on copyright laws. According to a source close to the situation, AI bots have been granted access to music catalogs on streaming platforms, which developers have used to train the technology. UMG is concerned that AI bots could use their intellectual property to create music that is indistinguishable from that of real artists.

The rise of AI bots using intellectual property to produce music identical to actual artists has increasingly concerned UMG. The company is taking an artist-first stance and has written in emails to the streaming services that they “will not hesitate to take steps to protect our rights and those of our artists.” One Twitter user shared an AI-generated song featuring an AI-version of rapper Jay-Z, which is almost identical to the real Jay-Z. The user was unsure whether they should feel “good or ashamed” for enjoying AI-generated music as a fan of the rapper. Another example shared by the same user was an AI model of Kanye West singing along to the tracks of rapper Drake’s song “Hold On”.

The issue is becoming more widespread as entire YouTube pages are popping up, remaking well-known music via AI technology. AI could be asked to compose a song that lyrically resembles Taylor Swift but with vocals and themes of other popular artists like Bruno Mars and Harry Styles. The output of such a song would be due to the fact that AI has been trained on the intellectual property of these artists.

While AI-generated music could have positive implications for the music industry in terms of time efficiency and cost-effectiveness, it could also have a negative impact on the industry if used improperly. The technology could potentially infringe on the intellectual property rights of artists in the music industry. As AI technology continues to advance and develop, it will be important for the music industry to monitor and regulate the use of AI in music production to protect the intellectual property of artists and the industry as a whole.

Google recently announced its own machine-learning music apparatus called MusicLM, which can generate “high-fidelity music from text descriptions.” The announcement has raised concerns in the music industry that AI technology could be used to create music that imitates real artists and infringes on their intellectual property rights. UMG has urged streaming services to take a proactive approach to protect artists’ rights and prevent the use of copyrighted material in AI-generated music.

The debate surrounding AI-generated music is ongoing, and it remains to be seen how the music industry will respond to this emerging technology. However, it is clear that the industry must take action to ensure that AI technology is used in a way that benefits both artists and consumers, without infringing on intellectual property rights.

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