Universal Music Group Is Calling on Streaming Services to Prevent AI Companies From Using Copyrighted Music
Responding to the increased use in AI technology in music.
Universal Music Group (UMG), who controls approximately a third of the global music market, has asked streaming services to obstruct AI companies from creating “new” music by using copyrighted music.
As stated by Variety, the major label’s move was confirmed by a UMG spokesperson in a statement to the Financial Times. “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. We expect our platform partners will want to prevent their services from being used in ways that harm artists,” the label said.
There has been a recent boom in the use of AI technology in music, many of which utilizes or is heavily “influenced” by copyrighted music; AI companies make use of copyrighted music from streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, and its technology can develop songs that may sound like it was created by a real-life artist, stirring up worries about copyright issues.
“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,” UMG wrote in an email from last month. “We will not hesitate to take steps to protect our rights and those of our artists.”
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