YouTube is in discussions with record labels about licensing their songs to artificial intelligence tools which clone the music of popular artists. The company hopes to gain industry acceptance by offering upfront payments.
Three people with knowledge of the situation say that Google’s video site is in need of labels’ content for AI song generators. It plans to launch new tools later this year.
According to people who were briefed about the talks, the company recently offered cash lump sums to major labels Sony, Warner, and Universal to encourage more artists to let their music be used to train AI software.
Many artists are still opposed to AI-generated music for fear that it will undermine the value and quality of their work. Labels who force their stars to participate in such a program would face a lot of controversy.
The industry is grappling with this. “Technically, the companies own the copyrights but we need to figure out how to use them,” said an executive from a major music company. We don’t wish to be viewed as Luddite.
YouTube began testing an AI-generated tool last year that allows users to create short music videos by typing in a text prompt. The product was initially called “Dream Track” and was intended to mimic the lyrics and sound of popular singers.
Only 10 musicians, including Charli XCX Troye Sivan, and John Legend, agreed to take part in the testing phase. Dream Track was only made available to a select group of creators.
YouTube is looking to sign “dozens” (or more) of artists to launch a new AI song creator this year.
YouTube stated: “We are not interested in expanding Dream Track, but we’re in conversation with labels about other experimental experiments.”
YouTube is looking for new deals as AI companies like OpenAI strike licensing agreements with media organizations to train large-scale language models. These systems power AI products, such as ChatGPT’s chatbot. Insiders claim that some of these deals are worth millions of dollars for media companies.
Music deals would be different. According to those briefed about the discussions, these licences would not apply to all artists but would rather be limited to a selected group.
Labels would have to be the ones to encourage their artists and promote them to take part in these new projects. The final amount YouTube may be willing to pay labels is not yet known.
These people say that the deals will look more like the payments made by social media companies, such as Meta and Snap, to music labels for the use of their music than the royalties-based agreements they have with Spotify and Apple.
YouTube’s AI tool, which will not likely carry the Dream Track name, could be part of YouTube Shorts, a platform that competes with TikTok. The people stated that talks continue and the terms of the deal could change.
YouTube’s move comes after the major record companies sued Suno and Udio on Monday, alleging that they were using illegally copyrighted recordings in order to train their AI model. According to , a music industry group wants “up to $150 000 per work infringed”.
Music companies, who were threatened with extinction in the 2000s after the rise of Napster, are now trying to stay ahead of the disruptive technology. Labels are eager to be involved in licensed products that utilize AI to create music using their copyrights, and to get paid.
A person with knowledge of the situation said that Sony Music, who did not take part in the first phase, is currently in talks with YouTube to provide some of its songs to the new AI tools. Warner and Universal artists who participated in the testing phase are in discussions with YouTube to expand the product.
An open letter was signed by more than 200 musicians in April. This included Billie Eilish, the estate of Frank Sinatra and Billie Eilish.
The letter stated that “AI will cause a race to lower levels, which will reduce the value of our labor and prevent us being fairly compensated.”
YouTube said: “We’re always trying out new ideas and learning through our experiments. It’s a crucial part of our innovation processes.” We will continue to build the future with AI and music.
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