Spotify logo. Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images.
Spotify is diving further into artificial intelligence with “significant investments in A.I. research and product development.” These will include a “generative A.I. research lab” and “artist-first A.I. music products,” Music Business Worldwide reports.
The new ventures will be made in partnership with all three major label groups Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group. Merlin, a digital music licensing company for independents, has also signed on, along with the indie music publisher Believe.
Spotify did not reveal specifics of the new A.I. ventures. The company claims they “will put artists and songwriters first” and allow musicians will be able to choose whether or not they want to participate as the company “[builds] products that create wholly new revenue streams for rightsholders, artists, and songwriters.”
In September, a report by the International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) found that many major A.I. models had been trained on massive amounts of music, a potentially massive case of copyright infringement. Spotify says their initiatives will be different.
“Some voices in the tech industry believe copyright should be abolished,” Spotify writes. “We don’t. Musicians’ rights matter. Copyright is essential. If the music industry doesn’t lead in this moment, A.I.-powered innovation will happen elsewhere, without rights, consent, or compensation.”
The announcement comes weeks after Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek transitioned to the role of Executive Chair with Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström coming on as co-CEOs. Musicians have been pulling their music from Spotify en masse in response to revelations about Ek’s investment company Hellsing dumping $700 million into an A.I. military tech company, though this wasn’t mentioned in the announcement of Ek’s new role at Spotify.
