Music

Suno CEO Mikey Shulman published a post titled "How We're Building the Future of Music Responsibly." The post announces updated community guidelines that explicitly prohibit recreating existing songs and cloning voices without permission, audio watermarking and fingerprinting rolling out in the coming weeks, content screening through Audible Magic and Musixmatch, and a new downloads policy designed to limit mass distribution of AI tracks to streaming services. Continue Reading →

TIDAL announced yesterday that starting on July 15, fully AI-generated music on the platform will no longer earn royalties. The company will tag those tracks with an "AI" badge, remove anything that impersonates an artist, and block 100% AI material from direct-to-fan sales. Continue Reading →

The UK government just backed down from its plan to let AI companies train on copyrighted works without permission. After fierce pushback from Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, and Dua Lipa, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall announced Wednesday that the government "no longer has a preferred option" on AI copyright policy. The reversal kills a proposed data bill that would have given creators only an opt-out clause after their work was already used. Continue Reading →

Google DeepMind just launched Lyria 3 in the Gemini app. Type a text prompt (or upload a photo) and you will get a 30-second track with auto-generated lyrics, vocals, and custom cover art. The model is available in eight languages to anyone 18+. YouTube creators worldwide can also access it through Dream Track for Shorts soundtracks. Every track carries a SynthID watermark. Continue Reading →

ElevenLabs has launched Eleven Music, their new AI music generation service, and they say they've done it with a new strategy: don't get sued. While competitors Suno and Udio are in litigation with major labels for allegedly training on copyrighted material, ElevenLabs secured licensing deals with Merlin Network (a digital rights agency for independent labels) and Kobalt Music Group before launching. That's revolutionary thinking in AI circles. Continue Reading →

Michael Smith, a musician from North Carolina, was indicted for a fraud scheme that generated more than $10 million in royalties by using AI-generated songs and bots. Continue Reading →

The rise of AI-generated music has been met with both excitement and skepticism. A recent article from Wired titled "The New 'Ethical' AI Music Generator Can't Write a Halfway Decent Song" highlights the shortcomings of Jen, a new AI music generator designed with ethical considerations in mind. Continue Reading →

In the least surprising lawsuit of 2024, the music industry is suing AI startups Suno and Udio for allegedly using copyrighted music without permission. Continue Reading →

Sony Music Group sent letters to more than 700 companies warning them not to use its music to train AI without explicit permission. Continue Reading →

I'm having trouble processing what I just watched. It's an ad from Apple about its new iPad. It turned my stomach. Then, it made me incredibly angry. Then, I was just sad. Continue Reading →