SoundCloud's AI Policy Update Sparks Controversy and Clarification

SoundCloud changes policies to allow AI training on user content | TechCrunch

SoundCloud appears to have quietly changed its terms of use to allow the company to train AI on audio that users upload to its platform. As spotted by tech ethicist Ed-Newton Rex, the latest version of SoundCloud's terms include a provision giving the platform permission to use uploaded content to "inform, train, [or] develop" AI. "You explicitly agree that your Content may be used to inform, train, develop or serve as input to artificial intelligence or machine intelligence technologies or services as part of and for providing the services," read the terms, which were last updated February 7. The terms have a carve out for content under "separate agreements" with third-party rightsholders, such as record labels. SoundCloud has a number of licensing agreements with indie labels as well as major music publishers, including Universal Music and Warner Music Group. TechCrunch wasn't able to find an explicit opt-out option in the platform's settings menu on the web. SoundCloud didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. SoundCloud, like many large creator platforms, is increasingly embracing AI. Last year, SoundCloud partnered with nearly a dozen vendors to bring AI-powered tools for remixing, generating vocals, and creating custom samples to its platform. In a blog post last fall, SoundCloud said that these partners would receive access to content ID solutions to "ensure rights holders [sic] receive proper credit and compensation," and it pledged to "uphold ethical and transparent AI practices that respect creators' rights." A number of content hosting and social media platforms have changed their policies in recent months to allow for first- and third-party AI training. In October, Elon Musk's X updated its privacy policy to let outside companies train AI on user posts. Last September, LinkedIn amended its terms to allow it to scrape user data for training. And in December, YouTube began letting third parties train AI on user clips. Many of these moves have prompted backlash from users who argue that AI training policies should be opt-in as opposed to opt-out, and who argue that they should be credited and paid for their contributions to AI training data sets.

SoundCloud says it isn't using your music to train generative AI tools

Wes Davis is a weekend editor who covers the latest in tech and entertainment. He has written news, reviews, and more as a tech journalist since 2020. The music-sharing platform SoundCloud quietly updated its terms of use in February last year, adding language that lets it train AI models on its users' content, as TechCrunch reported. And while the company says it hasn't used user-created content for model training, it doesn't rule out the possibility that it will in the future. Marni Greenberg, SVP and head of communications at SoundCloud, provided the following in a statement emailed to The Verge. SoundCloud has never used artist content to train AI models, nor do we develop AI tools or allow third parties to scrape or use SoundCloud content from our platform for AI training purposes. In fact, we implemented technical safeguards, including a "no AI" tag on our site to explicitly prohibit unauthorized use. Greenberg went on to say that SoundCloud's terms of service update "was intended to clarify how content may interact with AI technologies within SoundCloud's own platform." She said the company uses AI for things like personalized recommendations and fraud detection, and suggests its plans for future uses of AI on its platform fall along similar lines. When we asked about letting users opt out of having their music used for generative AI development, here's what Greenberg had to say: The TOS explicitly prohibits the use of licensed content, such as music from major labels, for training any AI models, including generative AI. For other types of content uploaded to SoundCloud, the TOS allows for the possibility of AI-related use. Importantly, no such use has taken place to date, and SoundCloud will introduce robust internal permissioning controls to govern any potential future use. Should we ever consider using user content to train generative AI models, we would introduce clear opt-out mechanisms in advance -- at a minimum -- and remain committed to transparency with our creator community. Hopefully SoundCloud will go to greater lengths to tell users about those opt-out mechanisms than it appears to have done for last year's AI-related terms of use update. Tech ethicist Ed Newton-Rex, who spotted the changes reported by TechCrunch, posted that they "can't see any emails" alerting them that the terms had been altered. I've contributed to SoundCloud, too, and also didn't find any emails about the changes when I checked. SoundCloud's terms say it will provide "prominent notice" about significant alterations to its terms, but doesn't guarantee you'll see that in an email.

SoundCloud says it's never trained AI using artists' work after getting called out for terms of use change

A 2024 update that slid under the radar says content 'may be used to inform, train, develop or serve as input to' AI. Following backlash about a quietly added clause to SoundCloud's Terms of Use that says users' content may be fed to AI, the company says it's "never used artist content to train AI models," and insists it "has always been and will remain artist-first." The outrage came after tech ethicist Ed Newton-Rex (via TechCrunch) spotted a change to SoundCloud's terms that was made in February 2024 seemingly without notifying users. The updated text states that by using the platform, "You explicitly agree that your Content may be used to inform, train, develop or serve as input to artificial intelligence or machine intelligence technologies or services as part of and for providing the services." In a statement to TechCrunch, a spokesperson said the update was only meant to "clarify how content may interact with AI technologies within SoundCloud's own platform" and that the company "has never used artist content to train AI models, nor do we develop AI tools or allow third parties to scrape or use SoundCloud content from our platform for AI training purposes." SoundCloud's official Reddit account posted similar statements on the social media platform in response to users' outrage, and both noted that SoundCloud added a "no AI" tag for artists "to explicitly prohibit unauthorized use." AI may be used for things like music recommendations, playlist creation and fraud detection, the company said. "Any future AI tools will be built for artists to enhance discovery, protect rights, and expand opportunities," SoundCloud posted on Reddit. "We hear your concerns and remain committed to transparency, artist control, and fair use." Just a few months ago, though, SoundCloud introduced a suite of AI tools geared toward music creation, on top of three others it had announced earlier that year. That includes AI tools for generating remixes, new tracks, beats and singing voices.

SoundCloud latest company to hit trouble with AI clause in T&Cs - 9to5Mac

SoundCloud is the latest company to run into trouble after quietly adding an AI clause to its terms and conditions. The clause appeared to allow the company to use subscriber work to train AI models ... A number of companies have been called out in the past for this, with Adobe one of the most high-profile examples back in June of last year. A change to Adobe terms & conditions for apps like Photoshop has outraged many professional users, concerned that the company is claiming the right to access their content, use it freely, and even sub-licence it to others. The company is requiring users to agree to the new terms in order to continue using their Adobe apps, locking them out until they do so. The company initially dismissed the controversy, but was later forced to issue a better explanation. Tech commenter Ed Newton-Rex spotted that SoundCloud had quietly added a similar clause to its own T&Cs without any fanfare. You explicitly agree that your Content may be used to inform, train, develop or serve as input to artificial intelligence or machine intelligence technologies or services as part of and for providing the services. TechCrunch obtained a statement in which the company explained the reasons for the clause, SoundCloud has never used artist content to train Al models, nor do we develop Al tools or allow third parties to scrape or use SoundCloud content from our platform for Al training purposes. In fact, we implemented technical safeguards, including a 'no Al tag on our site to explicitly prohibit unauthorized use [...] Any future application of AI at SoundCloud will be designed to support human artists, enhancing the tools, capabilities, reach, and opportunities available to them on our platform. Examples include improving music recommendations, generating playlists, organizing content, and detecting fraudulent activity. These efforts are aligned with existing licensing agreements and ethical standards. Tools like [those from our partner] Musiio are strictly used to power artist discovery and content organization, not to train generative AI models. As with Adobe, the wording is ambiguous to say the least. If companies don't want to have their users up in arms, they'd be well advised to explicitly state in the T&Cs what they will and won't do.

Soundcloud changed its AI policy so it can train on users' audio

If you don't want AI to scrape your music to learn, then it might be time to leave Soundcloud. The music streaming platform quietly updated its terms of service sometime last year to allow AI to train on audio uploaded to Soundcloud, TechCrunch reported this week. "You explicitly agree that your Content may be used to inform, train, develop or serve as input to artificial intelligence or machine intelligence technologies or services as part of and for providing the services," the terms read, via TechCrunch. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Not long after the TechCrunch report was published, Soundcloud clarified that it does not currently use audio uploaded by users to train AI. However, the company did not rule out doing so in the future. "SoundCloud has never used artist content to train AI models, nor do we develop AI tools or allow third parties to scrape or use SoundCloud content from our platform for AI training purposes," Marni Greenberg, SVP and head of communications at SoundCloud, told The Verge. "In fact, we implemented technical safeguards, including a 'no AI tag' on our site to explicitly prohibit unauthorized use." Greenberg further noted that music from major labels would be exempt from any AI training and confirmed that other users would have the opportunity to opt out of any such usage. Greenberg told The Verge: "The [terms of service] explicitly prohibits the use of licensed content, such as music from major labels, for training any AI models, including generative AI. For other types of content uploaded to SoundCloud, the TOS allows for the possibility of AI-related use. Importantly, no such use has taken place to date, and SoundCloud will introduce robust internal permissioning controls to govern any potential future use. Should we ever consider using user content to train generative AI models, we would introduce clear opt-out mechanisms in advance -- at a minimum -- and remain committed to transparency with our creator community." So as of right now, if you're uploading music, podcasts, or other audio to Soundcloud, it is not using it to train AI. But it seems Soundcloud is preparing for the day it will.

SoundCloud Quietly Forced Artists to Let AI Feast on Their Music

SoundCloud -- a music sharing platform once so beloved by artists it spawned sub-genres named after it -- updated its terms of service (TOS), forcing artists who use SoundCloud to let their music train AI. It looks like the change went into effect during SoundCloud's last TOS policy update in February 2024, and it's just coming to light now. The updated terms read that "in the absence of a separate agreement that states otherwise," creators who upload content to the site "explicitly agree that your Content may be used to inform, train, develop or serve as input to artificial intelligence or machine intelligence technologies or services as part of and for providing the services." In short, the language in the update suggests that musicians, artists, and other creators who use SoundCloud for distribution can expect their uploaded work to be funneled into AI models as training data. It's a sweeping provision. And how SoundCloud is actually applying it isn't exactly clear. But since early 2024, SoundCloud has integrated several generative AI tools and services into its platform that largely center on creating or producing new music. These changes started in late January 2024 (just before the TOS update), with the integration of three "assistive AI" products designed to help SoundCloud's creators. According to a press release, these tools are designed to "allow artists to upload songs created with assistive AI tools directly to SoundCloud." In November of that year, following the TOS update, SoundCloud introduced several more "assistive" AI integrations. These tools are similarly targeted at music generation and production tasks, and in a press release, SoundCloud lauded them as a way to "democratize music creation for all artists." Those services include products like Tuney, which "enables remixing, editing, and new track generation"; AIBeatz, a synthetic beat maker that allows users to "generate and customize [their] own beats like a Pro"; and Starmony, which SoundCloud says can help publishers "quickly produce high-quality tracks" and "distribute them across multiple platforms" while retaining a "large share of royalties," among others. During the November round of AI integrations, SoundCloud said in a press release it would double down on treating musicians better, per their "commitment to responsible, innovative and ethical use of creative AI tools" by partnering with services designed to "provide all of our existing and new AI partners access to content identification solutions," which SoundCloud said would ensure "rights holders receive proper credit and compensation." The company also entered into AI for Music's non-binding "Principles for Music Creation with AI" pledge, which, according to the AI for Music website, marks a commitment to the "vital contributions of human creativity and to the responsible development and application of artificial intelligence for music creation." Pledges withstanding, not all SoundCloud users appeared to be aware of the AI training update. We caught the wind of the update earlier today after The Flight, a musical duo who have composed music for popular films and videogames, posted about the terms change on Bluesky. "Ok then..." read the post, which linked to SoundCloud's terms webpage, "deleted all our songs that we uploaded to Soundcloud and now closing account." "YIKES," read a following Bluesky post from the composer Adam Humphreys, "@soundcloud.dev no thank you." "SoundCloud seems to claim the right to train on people's uploaded music in their terms," Ed Newton-Rex, a composer and the CEO of the nonprofit Fairly Trained, said on X-formerly-Twitter. "I think they have major questions to answer over this." We reached out to SoundCloud to ask about the update and what it means for artists' work, but have yet to hear back at the time of publishing. We'll update this story as it develops, and if SoundCloud responds. SoundCloud emerged in the late 2000s as an industry-shifting digital platform that allowed artists -- especially emerging and independent artists -- to upload and distribute their work at a remarkably low cost without relying on record labels and other guarded industry gatekeepers. This dynamic has also historically made SoundCloud an incredible venue for music discovery, and altogether, its place as an accessible online stage for emerging acts has cemented it as an important mainstay in the music industry landscape. But like countless other digital platforms in the AI era, SoundCloud seems to understand that the vast piles of data it's collected over its many years of operation are more valuable than ever. And as tensions between musicians, among other creative professionals, and the digital companies that platform them continue to rise over the practical and ethical implications of AI, pushback from users who didn't expect to see their creative work quietly vacuumed into AI models is anything but unexpected.

SoundCloud faces backlash after adding an AI training clause in its user terms

SoundCloud is facing backlash after creators took to social media to complain upon discovering that the music-sharing platform uses uploaded music to train its AI systems. According to SoundCloud's terms of use, unless a separate agreement states otherwise, users "explicitly agree that your Content may be used to inform, train, develop or serve as input to artificial intelligence or machine intelligence technologies or services as part of and for providing the services." These terms appear to have been added to SoundCloud's website in February 2024. Futurism was the first to report on artists' concerns. Musical duo The Flight brought attention to the terms this week, alerting fellow creators. "ok then... deleted all our songs that we uploaded to Soundcloud and now closing account," the duo posted on Bluesky. Another user replied, "Thanks for the heads up. I just deleted it my account."

SoundCloud Says It "Has Never Used Artist Content to Train AI Models" After Backlash on Terms of Service Change

Range Music Establishes Composer Division, Hires Jeff Jernigan SoundCloud has issued a statement clarifying that it isn't using artists' content for generative AI music, following considerable backlash over a change some users noticed in the platform's terms of service. In a statement issued to The Hollywood Reporter on Friday, a spokesperson for SoundCloud said the platform "has never used artist content to train AI models, nor do we develop AI tools or allow third parties to scrape or use SoundCloud content from our platform for AI training purposes." "In fact, we implemented technical safeguards, including a 'no AI' tag on our site to explicitly prohibit unauthorized use," the spokesperson said. The company said that "SoundCloud has always been and will remain artist-first," adding that it believes AI can be a helpful creative tool for artists "especially when guided by principles of consent, attribution and fair compensation." SoundCloud's statement comes following vocal criticism from some musicians and music industry advocates online after the platform's updated terms of service had begun to make the rounds. The update said that users "explicitly agree that your content may be used to inform, train, develop or serve as input to artificial intelligence or machine intelligence technologies or services as part of and for providing the services." SoundCloud confirmed the terms of service had been updated in February 2024. SoundCloud said it updated the TOS "to clarify how content may interact with AI technologies within SoundCloud's own platform." Those uses, SoundCloud said "include personalized recommendations, content organization, fraud detection and improvements to content identification with the help of AI Technologies." AI music generation is among the hottest button issues in the industry; the major record labels sued prominent AI music generation platforms Suno and Udio last year on allegations of massive copyright infringement. That suit is ongoing. SoundCloud said on Friday that "any application of AI at SoundCloud will be designed to support human artists, enhancing the tools, capabilities, reach and opportunities available to them on our platform." "Examples include improving music recommendations, generating playlists, organizing content and detecting fraudulent activity," SoundCloud said. "These efforts are aligned with existing licensing agreements and ethical standards." Those services would align with some of the uses the company lists on the website for Musiio, an AI platform SoundCloud purchased in 2022. In SoundCloud's statement, the company said that "tools like Musiio are strictly used to power artist discovery and content organization, not to train generative AI models." The uses SoundCloud lists are less controversial than music generation, though several musicians began sharing posts Friday encouraging other artists to consider taking their music off the platform. Among the advocates voicing their concern Friday was Ed Newton-Rex, the founder of Fairly Trained, a non-profit that calls for AI companies to train their models ethically and with permission from the original content creators. Newton-Rex told THR Friday that he was still concerned in light of SoundCloud's clarification, noting that the statement "doesn't actually rule out SoundCloud training generative AI models on their users' music in future." "This is particularly worrying because the terms of service clearly allow it," Newton-Rex said. "I think it's important they rule this out and update their terms accordingly. Otherwise I for one will be removing my music." (SoundCloud didn't immediately respond to request for comment on the consideration of any such carveout.) "We understand the concerns raised and remain committed to open dialogue," SoundCloud said. "Artists will continue to have control over their work, and we'll keep our community informed every step of the way as we explore innovation and apply AI technologies responsibly, especially as legal and commercial frameworks continue to evolve."