We’ve been proactive in reporting on the development and proliferation of AI in the music and pro audio business. Back in January 2019 the significance of AI was our top prediction for the coming year, but back then we had no idea just how far into the production process AI would permeate.

Yesterday the Financial Times and Reuters have reported that Google and Universal Music Group are engaged in talks to license artists' melodies and vocals for AI-generated music, aiming to address the challenges posed by the rising trend of AI-produced songs that mimic established artists' voices. This move comes as the industry seeks to monetise AI technology while respecting copyright and artistic integrity.

Universal Music Group is reportedly collaborating with Google to develop a tool that enables users to create AI-generated music using an artist's voice, lyrics, or sounds. This potential partnership marks a significant step for the industry, where discussions are centered around how to legitimise the creation of AI-generated tracks while compensating copyright holders appropriately.

Legitimising AI Generated Music

The proposed agreement would involve compensating copyright holders for the rights to generate music through AI while granting artists the choice to participate in this process. The goal is to develop a legitimate platform for fans to create music and ensure that the artists' creative and financial interests are safeguarded.

In our article How AI Vocals May Change Music Production Forever we commented that:

“the slow moving legal world is unlikely to catch up anytime soon. Copyright and publishing protect recordings and the content but the voice itself is neither of these things. I’m not a lawyer so I’m not going to offer any legal opinion here but I can certainly see some protracted legal wrangling on the horizon.

If they aren’t already, I’d expect record company contracts to be including clauses covering this very soon but we are definitely in a ‘Wild West’ phase of a new technology here and it’s going to be interesting for the next few years”

And it seems this process was indeed already in progress.

Warner Music Group is also in the fray, reportedly discussing a similar product with Google. Although these discussions are at an early stage, they underline the music industry's attempts to adapt to the evolving landscape of AI-generated content.

AI Faking Artists’ Most Valuable Asset

However, this integration of AI technology into music creation isn't without its challenges. The concept of "deepfake" songs, created using AI to imitate artists' voices, has stirred controversy and debates within the industry.

Universal Music general counsel Jeffrey Harleston said during a Senate hearing last month that “an artist’s voice is often the most valuable part of their livelihood and public persona.” Some artists have raised concerns over the potential misuse of their voices, with implications for personal and professional integrity.

Prominent figures like Drake have voiced their disapproval of AI-produced music after being featured in unauthorised deepfake tracks. Similar sentiments were expressed by Sting, who predicted a conflict between human creativity and AI-generated content.

The issue isn’t restricted to the music industry. Tim Friedlander, founder of the National Association of Voice Actors also shared a story of a voice actor who worked for a company for three years, but abruptly lost their work. "They said, 'we have three years of your voice – we're just going to create an AI synthetic voice out what we already have,'"

Conversely, other artists have embraced the idea of AI-generated music. Grimes, an electronic artist, has offered her voice for AI-generated songs, provided she receives a fair share of royalties. Paul McCartney even announced the use of AI to extract John Lennon's voice from an old demo tape, creating a new Beatles song, though we suspect that this referred to the use of demixing technology rather than a Deep-fake approach.

Legislation And Business Is Catching Up

The legal and regulatory landscape surrounding AI-generated music has been evolving. Universal Music took a stand by sending a letter to streaming services, urging them to prevent AI programs from accessing copyrighted lyrics and melodies. The U.S. Copyright Office has clarified that copyright protection is extended to works created by humans, not those produced solely by machines.

Google and Universal Music's discussions coincide with the release of experimental AI tools for generating music. Google's tool develops songs based on text prompts, while Meta has introduced its own AI tool trained on licensed music. These advancements underscore the growing interest and investment in AI-generated music within the tech industry.

The ongoing discussions between Google, Universal Music, and Warner Music Group are significant and unlike the response to previous tech challenges which have negatively impacted the recording industry, are more timely. Perhaps the industry has learned from previous mistakes and is trying to be as responsive as possible before it’s too late. The potential partnership seeks to strike a balance between technological innovation, copyright protection, and artistic expression. Though we’re not making any predictions on where this will ultimately lead us at this stage!