Universal Music Group and Splice partner to build AI tools that prioritize artist control

Universal Music Group and Splice Ink AI Partnership

Jane's Addiction, Perry Farrell "Resolve Our Differences" Year After On-Stage Brawl Universal Music Group and music creation platform Splice have established a partnership to create AI music tools together, the companies announced on Thursday, the latest in a flurry of AI developments to hit the business in the past several months. The partnership brings together the world's largest music company and one of the industry's biggest music software platforms, though UMG and Splice were vague on the sorts of tools they'd actually be creating beyond saying they'd be "advanced commercial AI tools that can deliver high fidelity and precise expression of artistic intent." Prior to the UMG partnership, Splice had already been developing generative AI music tools that allow users to transform and create variations of samples and sounds. "We're excited to form this alliance with Splice to promote the alignment of innovation and ethicality in addressing the interests of the creative community to leverage cutting-edge AI-enabled tools to further their artistic expression," UMG EVP and chief digital officer Michael Nash said in a statement. "We look forward to partnering with Kakul Srivastava and her team on this critically important strategic technology front." As Srivastava, Splice's CEO, adds: "We've spent time building AI tools designed to fairly compensate creators and keep them in control. "We're thankful for Universal's continued support, and excited to work together to put these commercial tools in the hands of artists everywhere, knowing they can trust the end result." Whatever UMG and Splice develop, prompt-based music generation features seem unlikely, as Srivastava called those sorts of creations "insulting" in an interview with The Verge back in March. "It's insulting, it's dismissive, it's reductive," she said at the time. "And, I think the creative process and creative people deserve better. They deserve better technology that enables them, as opposed to reducing this profound activity to a button." The Splice/UMG announcement is just one of many to hit the press this year. UMG announced it settled a lawsuit and established a new partnership with AI music platform Udio back in October, and Warner Music Group inked a similar agreement soon after before announcing a settlement with Suno last month. In October, all the major music companies announced a partnership with Spotify to help the world's largest music streaming service develop AI products as well.

Universal Music Group and Splice to Collaborate on the Next Generation of AI-Powered Music Creation Tools for Artists

Universal Music Group (UMG) and Splice have agreed to collaborate on joint exploration of the next generation of AI-powered music creation tools for musical artists. UMG and Splice are building a roadmap for development of commercial AI tools rooted in creative control and artistic excellence. The artist-centric agreement builds on Splice's suite of AI-enabled creator tools, which continue to respect intellectual property, and combine high-quality creative ingredients. Bringing the world's leading home for artists together with the ubiquitous music creation platform will provide a pathway for UMG and Splice to create advanced commercial AI tools that can deliver high fidelity and precise expression of artistic intent. Guided by a shared commitment to creative expression and artistic empowerment, the partnership will also explore AI-powered virtual instruments and tools that enable UMG artists to bring their own sounds into Splice's AI workflows. UMG artists are expected to play a crucial role in guiding the product development process.