YouTube Seeks AI Music Deals with Major Labels Amid Generative Music Expansion

YouTube is negotiating with major record labels to license music for its AI tools. The Google-owned platform aims to launch new AI music features later this year, seeking agreements with Universal, Sony, and Warner.

YouTube Negotiates with Major Labels for AI Music Licensing, Plans New Tool Launches This Year

As The Verge reported, YouTube has requested permission from major record labels to clone additional musicians after introducing a generative AI feature that generates music in the vein of renowned artists such as Charli XCX, John Legend, and T-Pain.

According to the Financial Times, Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Records are being offered "lump sums of cash" by the Google-owned video platform in exchange for licensing their songs to train its AI music tools legally.

YouTube informed the Financial Times that it is not interested in expanding Dream Track, which only ten artists supported during its test phase. However, it did clarify that it is "in discussions with labels about other experiments." According to the report, YouTube plans to launch new AI tools later this year, and the platform is attempting to license music from "dozens" of artists. The music will be used to train the AI tools. The report indicates that YouTube is likely to make one-time payments for these licenses rather than royalty-based arrangements, although the fee it is willing to pay has yet to be disclosed.

Artists and Labels Push Back as YouTube Seeks AI Music Licensing Deals Amid Legal Tensions

In any case, the artists and the labels representing them will require some persuasion. UMG was prepared to temporarily withdraw its music catalog from TikTok after licensing negotiations fell apart due to inadequate protections against AI-generated music. Sony Music has issued a comprehensive warning to AI companies regarding the "unauthorized use" of its content. In January, more than 200 artists, including Katy Perry, Pearl Jam, and Billie Eilish, urged technology companies to stop employing AI to "infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists."

Just days after the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which represents record labels such as Universal, Warner, and Sony, filed separate copyright infringement lawsuits against two of the most prominent companies in the generative AI music industry, news of these discussions has emerged. The RIAA is pursuing damages of up to $150,000 per infringement; the labels allege that outputs from Suno and Udio were produced using "unlicensed copying of sound recordings on a massive scale."

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