TL;DR:
- Universal Music Group (UMG) is urging streaming platforms to restrict access to AI services that scrape melodies and lyrics from their copyrighted songs.
- UMG has been sending takedown requests for AI-generated music appearing on streaming services.
- The company expressed concern over AI bots using their songs to train themselves to produce music that mimics popular artists.
- Google has decided to halt the release of its AI music generator, MusicLM, due to the risk of misappropriation of creative content.
- UMG is taking a stand against the unauthorized use of its music and has told streaming services to prevent the use of its music in ways that harm artists.
- Spotify declined to comment on the issue, while Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
Main AI News:
In a move to protect their copyrighted songs, Universal Music Group (UMG), the company controlling approximately one-third of the global music market, has issued a directive to streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple, to restrict access to artificial intelligence (AI) services. As AI-generated songs continue to surface on streaming services, UMG has been sending takedown requests to protect the rights of their artists. The company is demanding that streaming platforms cut off access to their music catalog for developers utilizing it to train AI technology.
According to emails viewed by the Financial Times, UMG expressed their concern over AI bots utilizing their songs to train themselves to produce music that mimics popular artists. In March, the company wrote to online platforms, stating their stance on the matter, “We will not hesitate to take steps to protect our rights and those of our artists. This next generation of technology poses significant issues.” A person close to the situation adds, “Much of generative AI is trained on popular music…The output you get is due to the fact the AI has been trained on those artists’ intellectual property.“
Examples of AI-generated music can be found on platforms such as YouTube’s “PluggingAI” page, featuring tracks mimicking popular artists such as Kanye West, The Weeknd, and SZA.
In response to the growing threat of AI-generated music, Universal Music Group (UMG), the company controlling a substantial portion of the global music market, has taken steps to protect the rights of its artists. UMG is urging streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple, to restrict access to AI services that scrape melodies and lyrics from their copyrighted songs. The company has been sending takedown requests for AI-generated music that has been appearing on streaming services.
The potential for misappropriation of creative content has also been a concern for tech giant Google, as evidenced by their decision to halt the release of their AI music generator, MusicLM. The product, which generates music from any text description, was trained from a data set of 280,000 hours of music.
However, after discovering that approximately 1% of the generated music was a direct replica of copyrighted work, Google concluded that more work is needed to tackle the risks before releasing MusicLM. In an effort to eliminate “lower-quality” songs from streaming platforms, including ambient music and AI-generated songs, UMG has taken a stand against the unauthorized use of their music.
The company told streaming services, “We have become aware that certain AI systems might have been trained on copyrighted content without obtaining the required consents from, or paying compensation to, the rightsholders who own or produce the content.”
A UMG spokesperson added, “We have a moral and commercial responsibility to our artists to work to prevent the unauthorized use of their music and to stop platforms from ingesting content that violates the rights of artists and other creators.” Spotify declined to comment, while Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
Conlcusion:
The growing use of AI-generated music on streaming services has led to pushback from music industry leaders such as Universal Music Group (UMG), who are seeking to protect the rights of their artists. UMG has issued a directive to streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple, to restrict access to AI services that scrape melodies and lyrics from their copyrighted songs. The company has been sending takedown requests for AI-generated music and is taking a stand against the unauthorized use of its music.
Additionally, tech giant Google has also expressed concern over the potential misappropriation of creative content, leading to their decision to halt the release of their AI music generator, MusicLM. The music industry is facing significant challenges in terms of protecting the rights of artists and ensuring that AI-generated music is not a threat to their creative content. It remains to be seen how the market will respond to these developments and what impact they will have on the future of AI-generated music.
