Universal Music And Warner Music Group Reportedly Close To Signing 'Landmark' AI Deals

Two of the biggest record labels in the world are nearing "landmark" AI deals, a new report has claimed.

According to the Financial Times, sources close to Universal Music and Warner Music Group have reported that the majors are getting closer to new licensing deals with high-profile AI companies.

The article alleges that companies such as ElevenLabs, Stability AI, Suno, Udio and Klay Vision have been involved in talks with the majors, while Google and Spotify have also been involved in discussions.

The Financial Times claims that these talks have been focused on matters such as licensing for AI-generated tracks and the training of large language models, and the implementation of a payment structure "similar to that for streaming."

Ostensibly, this payment structure is to be used for AI-generated music and will also play into reported plans for "attribution technology, akin to YouTube’s content ID system" which will be able to identify the usage of said AI-generated work.

The report also claims that Spotify are taking early steps into integrating generative AI tools into their own platform, but no deal is close to being struck, the Financial Times notes.

Sony Music also confirmed to the outlet that it had been in talks with similar companies. "We are in discussions with companies that have ethically trained models and that benefit our artists and songwriters," an unnamed source told the publication.

Notably, it was also reported earlier this year that Universal, Warner, and Sony had been in talks with some of these AI firms, including Suno and Udio – which the three majors had sued last year, accusing the companies of copyright infringement. The RIAA—Recording Industry Association Of America—sought $150,000 per piece of work that was infringed.

News of these seemingly-imminent deals from the majors, and the discussions from platforms such as Spotify come only just a week after the aforementioned streaming giant announced new measures to strengthen AI protections for artists and producers.

The new measures include stronger impersonation rules, a music spam filter, and new AI disclosures in music credits, with all aspects expected to roll out in the coming months.

Spotify explained that this attitude toward spam and AI-generated "slop" is not a new one, with the past decade seeing them fight the rise of invasive technology that can have a negative impact upon the creative and listening process. 

In fact, the platform noted that the past 12 months alone have more than 75 million "spammy tracks" removed from the service – the equivalent of roughly two years' worth of annual uploads to the service.

Likewise, this normalisation of AI's influence within the musical sphere rose to further prominence this week when Welsh outfit Holding Absence noted that AI band Bleeding Verse had overtaken the former in terms of listeners on streaming platforms despite allegedly citing the group as an influence.

“So, an AI ‘band’ who cite us as an influence (ie, it’s modelled off our music) have just overtaken us on Spotify, in only TWO months," wrote vocalist Lucas Woodland.

“It’s shocking, it’s disheartening, it’s insulting - most importantly - it’s a wake-up call," he added. “Oppose AI music, or bands like us stop existing.”