Spotify and Universal Music strike licensing deal for AI covers and remixes tool

Spotify and Universal Music strike deal allowing fan-made AI covers and remixes | TechCrunch

Watch out, Suno. Spotify on Thursday announced it has partnered with Universal Music Group (UMG) to allow fans to use generative AI technology to create covers and remixes of their favorite songs. The tool will launch as a paid add-on available only to Spotify's Premium subscribers and will offer a revenue share with participating artists for the AI-generated music based on their work. The company did not share pricing or a launch date for the new tool, only that the two companies had come to a licensing agreement. However, Spotify had teased its plans last year, noting that it was working with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group, Merlin, and Believe to develop artist-first AI products. The AI tools would be created through "upfront agreements, not by asking for forgiveness later," Spotify said at the time, an obvious swipe at other players in the space, like Suno. Among the principles Spotify outlined: artists and rightsholders should be able to choose if and how they participate in AI tools, and if they do, they should be fairly compensated. "Solving hard problems for music is what Spotify does, and fan-made covers and remixes are next. What we're building is grounded in consent, credit, and compensation for the artists and songwriters that take part," said Spotify co-CEO Alex Norström, in a statement about the UMG agreement. "Through each technological transformation, we have worked together with Sir Lucian [Chairman & CEO, Universal Music Group] and his team to evolve the music ecosystem into a richer, more beneficial experience for fans and a more rewarding outcome for artists and songwriters." UMG Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge, meanwhile, touted the development as a way for artists to deepen their fan relationships while also creating additional revenue opportunities. There's no word yet on which UMG artists have agreed to participate. While services like Suno and Udio have been pioneers in the AI music space, they moved forward on shaky legal ground when building their AI music-making tools. Unsurprisingly, the major labels quickly sued. In November, Suno ended up settling a $500 million lawsuit with Warner Music Group, which came shortly after Universal Music Group (UMG) had settled its own suit with Udio. Today, Suno is still facing copyright claims from UMG and Sony Music, among others. Udio, meanwhile, has settled with Warner Music and UMG, but is still working to settle with Sony. Seeing demand for this type of activity from consumers, Spotify went straight to the labels for a deal of its own. UMG may be the first of many label partnerships to come, though the company didn't outright say so. The news was shared amid a slew of Investor Day announcements from Spotify on Thursday, which also included an AI-powered audiobook creation tool, AI-powered features for podcasters, a desktop app to produce personal podcasts via AI, and reserved concert tickets for top fans.

Spotify and Universal Music Group Strike a Deal for AI-Powered Remix and Cover Song Tool

If you're someone who believes AI should stay out of the arts, and especially your earbuds, you might want to sit down for this news. On Thursday, Spotify announced a partnership with Universal Music Group that will allow you to use AI tools to create cover songs and remixes on the streaming platform. So imagine At Last by Etta James mixed with the 2010 hit Baby by Justin Bieber, or even mashed up as a country or folk version. The AI-powered tool will not be included in Spotify memberships by default. Instead, it will be a paid add-on option for Spotify Premium members, the music streaming service said. A launch date has yet to be announced. It's unclear whether music artists will have any control over their music being used in fan edits, but we can make an educated guess that artists who own their music outright, such as Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, will have the most say. Lucian Grainge, CEO of UMG, said in a statement that the initiative is "designed to support human artistry, deepen fan relationships, and create additional revenue opportunities for artists and songwriters." Alex Norström, co-CEO of Spotify, said: "What we're building is grounded in consent, credit, and compensation for the artists and songwriters that take part." Recently, numerous music artists have spoken out against the intersection of AI and music creation, including Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, Billie Eilish, Jon Bon Jovi and more. In addition to this partnership, the streaming service also announced Reserved, a new ticket initiative that reserves two tickets for top Spotify Premium subscribers, allowing them to buy tickets for select artists a day before they go on sale to the general public.

Spotify cranks up AI push with Universal Music deal, lays out bold growth targets

May 21 (Reuters) - Spotify (SPOT.N), opens new tab on Thursday laid out an ambitious roadmap to drive growth and profitability through the end of the decade, doubling down with AI-powered features to boost user engagement and partnering with Universal Music, sending shares up 16%. The Swedish audio-streaming giant unveiled a slate of new offerings, including "Reserved," which lets eligible premium subscribers buy up to two tickets to their favorite artist's concert before they are offered to the general public for sale, and "Personal Podcasts," an AI tool that generates custom podcasts from user prompts. It also ⁠announced a deal with Universal Music Group (UMG.AS), opens new tab, allowing subscribers to create AI-generated covers and remixes of tracks by some of the label's artists, the first time Spotify has allowed its users to create AI content. The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the deal or name artists whose music will be part of the new AI remix feature, but said the new tool would help create an additional source of income for artists and songwriters. Universal Music represents several major artists including Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Drake. The moves offer a glimpse of how recently appointed co-CEOs Alex Norstrom and Gustav Soderstrom are starting to reshape Spotify's strategy as it seeks to fend off mounting competition from AI music startups such as ⁠Udio and Suno and larger podcast rivals including YouTube and Netflix. "What we're building is grounded in consent, credit and compensation for the artists and songwriters that take part," Norstrom said. Spotify expects a mid-teens compounded annual revenue growth rate through 2030 and projected gross margins between 35% and 40%. Last year, it reported revenue growth of around 10% and ⁠a gross margin of 32%. The company also expects its operating margin to rise above 20%. It reported an operating margin of 12.8% in 2025. Among its new features is "Studio by Spotify Labs," an AI-powered desktop app that can take actions on behalf of ⁠users to create personalized content. A preview-version of the app will soon be available for premium users in more than 20 markets. The company is also rolling out "Memberships," to allow podcasters to build recurring revenue streams directly from their most ⁠dedicated listeners. Spotify said it would also expand Audiobooks+ with new subscription tiers. The product is on track to generate $100 million in annualized recurring revenue. Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda and Diti Pujara Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Spotify and Universal are building an AI tool for covers and remixes - Engadget

Spotify just announced a partnership with Universal Music Group (UMG) to create a tool that lets fans make covers and remixes. It'll be a paid add-on for Premium subscribers, with some of that money going to the original artists whose work is being repurposed. Spotify says that artists have to opt in to the program. It's being marketed as a new way for artists and creators to make money, as the platform states the tool will "open up additional revenue streams and new ways to drive discovery." Spotify co-CEO Alex Norström says the platform will "evolve the music ecosystem into a richer, more beneficial experience for fans and a more rewarding outcome for artists and songwriters." The whole thing is being called an "AI-driven" experience, which means that users will be able to whip up slopified versions of real songs that use a slopified version of their voice or whatever. It seems similar to Suno, but with actual licenses. We reached out to Spotify for specifics as to how this tool will work and if there will be a way for people to cover songs without AI. There's no launch window as yet.

Spotify and Universal sign licensing deal for AI covers and remixes

Premium subscribers will be able to generate AI versions of songs by participating UMG artists. The financial terms were not disclosed. Spotify and Universal Music Group have signed licensing agreements that will let premium subscribers generate AI covers and remixes of songs by participating UMG artists, the two companies said on Thursday. It is the first time the streaming service has formally licensed generative AI on top of its catalogue, and the most concrete answer the major-label system has given so far to the question of how AI-made music should be paid for. The product, which the companies described as launching as a paid add-on for Premium users, has no public release date. UMG and Spotify said the model is built around "consent, credit, and compensation," with artists and songwriters opting in and receiving a share of revenue from the AI-generated versions of their work. Which UMG artists have signed on was not disclosed; the label's roster includes Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Drake and Billie Eilish, though that does not imply any of them have agreed to participate. Markets read the deal as material. Spotify shares rose around 14-16% on the day, on the view that AI-generated remixes give the company a new revenue line at a moment when its core subscription business is maturing. The companies did not disclose financial terms, including how the revenue split between Spotify, UMG, and individual artists will work. The licensing model is significant for what it tries to settle. AI music tools have spent the last two years operating in a grey zone, with services such as Suno and Udio facing lawsuits from the major labels for training on copyrighted catalogues without permission. By licensing the rights at the platform layer and letting users generate inside Spotify rather than upload AI tracks to it, the two companies are sketching a structure in which the label, the artist, the songwriter, and the platform all collect on the same generated file. The risk Spotify needs to manage is the one it has been criticised for not managing well in the past. The platform has been accused of letting AI-generated tracks proliferate on the catalogues of dead artists without estate approval, and of being slow to label or detect AI music in general, a contrast TNW covered in detail last year. A licensed creator tool, with the rights cleared upstream, is a cleaner story to tell investors and regulators than an enforcement system trying to police uploads after the fact. Whether it is a cleaner story for artists depends entirely on terms that have not been published. Songwriters have historically received the thinnest slice of streaming revenue, and the unanswered question is whether the new licensing tier corrects that or simply layers another revenue category on top of an existing imbalance. The deal also lands the same week that Spotify's catalogue of AI-generated content remained, by its own admission, unlabelled. The remix product, when it launches, will be the first AI music on the platform with paperwork attached. The rest of the catalogue is still the harder problem.

Spotify and Universal Music agree deal to let subscribers create AI remixes

Licensing agreement will allow listeners to use AI to create content on streaming platform for first time Spotify and Universal Music Group have agreed on a deal that will allow subscribers to generate song covers and remixes using artificial intelligence. The licensing agreement is the first time the Swedish streaming company will allow listeners to use AI to create content through its platform. It is expected to be in the form of a paid add-on available on Spotify's app. Premium users will be able to remix songs from participating artists and create AI-driven licensed covers. Spotify said the new tool could create an extra stream of income for artists and songwriters, in addition to what they already earn through royalties. The financial terms of the deal were unclear, and the companies did not reveal which artists would participate in the licensing deal. Universal Music is home to artists including Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish. Spotify's shares were up 16% on Thursday, with revenue expected to grow at a "mid-teens" annual rate and gross profit margins between 35% and 40% through to 2030, according to the FT. "Solving hard problems for music is what Spotify does, and fan-made covers and remixes are next. What we're building is grounded in consent, credit and compensation for the artists and songwriters that take part," said Spotify co-chief executive Alex Norström. Universal Music's chief executive Lucian Grainge said the deal seeks to "support human artistry" and "create additional revenue opportunities for artists and songwriters". "Building on our long track record of leading the industry through technology changes, and collaborating with Alex, Gustav, Daniel and the team at Spotify, this initiative is firmly artist-centric, rooted in responsible AI, and will drive growth for the entire ecosystem," he said. Spotify is looking for new ways to grow beyond the traditional music subscription and to adopt AI into its ecosystem. At the start of May, it announced a beta feature that lets AI agents save and play "personal podcasts", which will be a daily briefing, private to the user. Artificial intelligence is a pressing concern for the music industry. Artists and songwriters are concerned about copyright problems and the place of AI-generated music in the industry landscape. At the end of April, Spotify announced a new verification system to help users differentiate human artists and AI-generated content. The audio-streaming service said its "Verified by Spotify" badge - marked by a green checkmark - will begin appearing on artist profiles and in search results in the coming weeks. The badge means a music profile has been reviewed and meets the platform's standards for authenticity. "In the AI era, it's more important than ever to be able to trust the authenticity of the music you listen to," the company said.

Spotify will let you use AI to make covers and remixes of your favourite songs, for an extra fee

Spotify and Universal Music are making AI-generated covers and remixes an official feature. If you have ever wished you could hear your favourite song in a completely different style, or put your own spin on it? Spotify is about to make that happen. The streaming platform announced a new AI-powered tool that will let Premium subscribers create covers and remixes of songs from participating artists. The tool comes out of a landmark licensing deal between Spotify and Universal Music Group, the world's largest music company, whose roster includes Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter, and Post Malone. It will launch as a paid add-on for Premium subscribers, though no release date or exact pricing details have been confirmed yet. How will Spotify's AI cover and remix tool work for fans and artists? The new feature lets fans use generative AI to produce their own versions of licensed songs and share them on the platform. Artists who opt into the program will collect royalties on any AI-generated covers or remixes made from their music, creating a new revenue stream on top of what they already earn from regular streams. Recommended Videos Artists can also choose to opt out entirely. Spotify Co-CEO Alex Norström described the tool as being built on consent, credit, and compensation. What makes this different from the AI music already on Spotify? Spotify has faced criticism for AI-generated content flooding its library. The platform removed 75 million spammy tracks last year before introducing AI content tagging. This one tries a different angle though, putting AI in the hands of fans while making sure artists stay in control and actually get paid for it. Whether people will embrace AI remixes or treat them the same way they have treated the wave of AI slop already clogging up streaming platforms, remains to be seen. Spotify also added verified podcast badges recently to help listeners tell real hosts apart from AI clones, and gave artists more control over how AI-generated content appears alongside their music.

Spotify adding derivative AI fan covers and remixes for an extra fee | Stuff

Spotify is launching AI generated covers and remixes that artists will be able to opt-into. Spotify has announced a partnership with record label Universal to enable fans to generate AI-powered covers and remixes of their favourite tracks via the music streaming service. The forthcoming paid add-on for Spotify Premium subscribers will require the opt-in consent of artists who will then be compensated when their music is tampered with by listeners. It's not exactly clear what these "fan-made covers" will entail. Whether users will be able to ask for a song in the style of another artist, or whether they'll be able to add their own voice to a song. The remixes part is pretty self explanatory. Spotify isn't explaining the specifics, just that the deal itself has been agreed with Universal Music Group. The new initiative "introduces a creation model where artists and songwriters can directly share in the value generated through AI-driven licensed covers and remixes on the Spotify platform," the company says in a blog post. "It will create an additional source of income for artists and songwriters, on top of what they already earn on Spotify." It's hard to imagine a lot of artists being enthusiastic about this. The media release, tellingly, doesn't offer an endorsement from a single one. However, many songwriters may feel the need to opt-in to help make ends meet. Perhaps if Spotify paid artists a good rate in the first place, they wouldn't feel the need to allow their life's work to be torn to shreds by an LLM? The statement from Spotify's co-CEO Alex Norstrom feels like pure gaslighting. The company writes: "Solving hard problems for music is what Spotify does, and fan-made covers and remixes are next. What we're building is grounded in consent, credit, and compensation for the artists and songwriters that take part. Through each technological transformation, we have worked together with Sir Lucian and his team to evolve the music ecosystem into a richer, more beneficial experience for fans and a more rewarding outcome for artists and songwriters." Universal calls it an "AI-enabled superfan initiative designed to support human artistry."

Spotify-Universal Deal Suggests Labels Think AI Music's Future Is Letting You Play With Their Catalog

Inside Anderson .Paak's K-Pop Album: 'This is More Than a Soundtrack' It's becoming increasingly clear that the strategy for major labels when it comes to dealing with AI-generated music's rise is to embrace and monetize it, letting fans use carefully controlled versions of the technology to create variations on songs the labels control. In the process, they hope, they'll generate more royalties. The latest evidence is a just-announced high-profile new deal between the world's largest record company, Universal Music Group, and Spotify to "launch a new tool allowing fans to create covers and remixes of their favorite songs from participating artists and songwriters." The strategy, which would essentially turn artists' work into a kind of digital Play-Doh, first became clear late last year, when Universal and Warner Music each settled lawsuits with the AI service Udio and struck deals to create a subscription service with the same kind of song-morphing capabilities. The Spotify deal extends that template onto the most popular streaming platform, and as with the prior announcements, Universal suggested that artists will be able to decide whether to allow their songs to be part of it. A launch date for the tool has yet to be revealed, but it will be a "paid add-on for Spotify Premium subscribers," according to the announcement, with participating artists and songwriters sharing in the revenue. In a statement, Spotify Co-CEO Alex Norström said the product is grounded in "consent, credit, and compensation" for the artists and songwriters who take part. Universal chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge called the initiative "firmly artist-centric, rooted in responsible AI." Udio CEO Andrew Sanchez pointed out to Rolling Stone in 2025 that these deals may also yield valuable data. "Maybe I'm a country singer, but people are trying to use me to make hip-hop," Sanchez said. "That's amazing. Maybe I wanna lean into that." Michael Nash, Universal's chief digital officer, told Rolling Stone in 2025 that the company's AI goals were to "center the conversation on artists, defend their rights and interests, and from that foundation build the creative and commercial opportunities out." He cited research that a large percentage of music uploaded to social media has been, he said, "sped up, slowed down, mashed up, remixed" as evidence of the demand for the services the company is building. Artists who opt into these plans "will have an opportunity to connect with fans on a platform where you'll have enormous control over the parameters around that interaction, and then you will have significant economic participation," he said, "as opposed to the current world in which there's no control and there's very little economic participation."

Spotify strikes deal with Universal Music to let premium users create AI covers, remixes - The Economic Times

The companies did not disclose the financial ⁠terms of ⁠the deal or which artists will participate in the new feature in their joint announcement on Thursday. Universal Music is home to artists including Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Drake and Billie Eilish.Spotify has struck a deal with Universal Music Group to let subscribers create AI-generated covers and remixes of songs, marking the first time the audio-streaming giant will allow users to produce AI content using its platform. Shares of the company rose around 16%. The companies did not disclose the financial ⁠terms of ⁠the deal or which artists will participate in the new feature in their joint announcement on Thursday. Universal Music is home to artists including Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Drake and Billie Eilish. The move puts Spotify in more direct competition with startups such as Udio and Suno that allow AI-powered music creation. The new tool ⁠will create an additional source of income for artists and songwriters, on top of what they already earn on ⁠Spotify including through royalties, the companies said. "What we're building is grounded in consent, credit and compensation for the artists and songwriters that take part," said Spotify Co-CEO Alex Norstrom. Major record labels have been seeking new licensing arrangements to safeguard their vast catalogs as AI-generated music grows in popularity and consumers increasingly struggle to tell it apart from human-composed songs. Last year, Udio signed deals with UMG and Warner Music Group to settle copyright cases, while Suno reached a settlement with WMG. But the ⁠two AI music companies face class action lawsuits from more than 1,800 independent artists, who allege the startups' actions "were an attack" on the music community's "most vulnerable and valuable members." Spotify has previously introduced several AI-powered music discovery features to boost user retention and engagement, including voice interaction for its personalized music tool AI DJ and the option to generate playlists using natural-language prompts.

Spotify strikes deal with Universal Music to let premium users create AI covers, remixes

Spotify has struck a deal with Universal Music Group to let subscriber to create AI generated covers and remixes of songs, marking the first time the audio-streaming giant will allow users to produce AI content using its platform. Shares of the company rose around 16 per cent. The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the deal or which artists will participate in the new feature in their joint announcement on Thursday. Universal Music is home to artists including Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Drake and Billie Eilish. The move puts Spotify in more direct competition with startups such as Udio and Suno that allow AI-powered music creation. The new tool will create an additional source of income for artists and songwriters, on top of what they already earn on Spotify including through royalties, the companies said. "What we're building is grounded in consent, credit and compensation for the artists and songwriters that take part," said Spotify Co-CEO Alex Norström. Major record labels have been seeking new licensing arrangements to safeguard their vast catalogs as AI-generated music grows in popularity and consumers increasingly struggle to tell it apart from human-composed songs. Last year, Udio signed deals with UMG and Warner Music Group to settle copyright cases, while Suno reached a settlement with WMG. But the two AI music companies face class action lawsuits from more than 1,800 independent artists, who allege the startups' actions "were an attack" on the music community's "most vulnerable and valuable members." Spotify has previously introduced several AI-powered music discovery features to boost user retention and engagement, including voice interaction for its personalized music tool AI DJ and the option to generate playlists using natural-language prompts.

Spotify Technology Shares Up Amid New AI Tool For Remixing Songs

Spotify Technology shares climbed after the company said it plans to roll out an artificial intelligence tool allowing users to make covers and remixes of songs from Universal Music Group's artists. Shares of the music streaming company climbed 15% Thursday to $497.47. The company's shares are still down 15% year to date. The new tool is part of an expanded partnership between the streaming company and the record label, which represents a host of artists, from Taylor Swift to Kendrick Lamar. The tool will be a paid add-on for Spotify Premium users, the company said. The company also said Thursday that it would reserve two concert tickets for some artists' top fans to buy tickets before the general sale.