Spotify and Apple warned against letting AI access copyrighted songs
Universal Music Group has warned streaming platforms to clamp down on artificial intelligence tools wielding copyrighted songs for training purposes.
In a letter sent to streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple, the music corporation expressed concern that AI tools would collect data from copyrighted songs available on the platform to train themselves to produce tracks that mimic music artists, according to a report in the Financial Times.
The music corporation said it was concerned that AI tools were being “trained on copyrighted content” without gaining consent from rightsholders, in an email to streaming services seen by the FT.
“We will not hesitate to take steps to protect our rights and those of our artists,” the record label added in its email.
CityAM contacted Universal Music Group but was not able to independently verify the report.
The letter comes amid growing prominence of AI tools across the music industry. A recent research report from Google revealed the AI tool MusicLM could generate “high-fidelity” tracks from simple lines of text.
The tool was able to respond to descriptions such as “a calming violin melody backed by a distorted guitar riff”, Google said in its report.
The US trade representative also previously cautioned against online piracy which “has real consequences and harms the economic security of workers in the entertainment, media, and creative industries” in a recent review on the impact of piracy on workers.
Other popular AI tools have also recently come under fire, including the widely-recognised chatbot ChatGPT, which was banned in Italy last week over privacy concerns.
Both Apple and Spotify were approached for comment but did not immediately respond.