“This agreement with Merlin ensures participating artists are credited and compensated, and that every creation drives listeners back to the original work,” Charlie Hellman, Spotify's senior vice president and global head of music, said in a statement. “We’re proud to extend this model to the independent community, and we look forward to welcoming more partners as we continue to build.”
Spotify has said the remixing tools are designed to generate additional streaming revenue for participating artists. The feature will be offered to Premium subscribers as a paid add-on, with artists choosing whether to opt in.
“Giving our members’ artists the choice to make their music available as part of this exciting technology, while ensuring the opportunity to participate in an additional revenue stream, is exactly what Merlin is here to do,” Merlin CEO Charlie Lexton said in a statement. “Spotify’s respect for our members and their artists’ rights is exemplary, making our decision to work on this project an easy one.”
During the company's earnings call, Spotify co-CEO Alex Norström said the Merlin agreement follows the licensing deal announced with Universal Music Group and Universal Music Publishing Group in May. “Following an agreement that we had with UMG and Universal Music Publishing Group in May, we announced today the deal with Merlin, which adds 30,000 network the opportunity to partake in this new product that we’re building around covers and remixes,” Norström said.
Spotify executives said the product is built around what the company describes as the "three C's": consent, credit and compensation. The company has emphasized that artists must choose to participate, receive attribution, and benefit financially from AI-generated remixes and covers created with their music.
During the earnings call, co-CEO Gustav Söderström said the initiative is intended to focus on licensed music from real artists rather than fully AI-generated performers. “Our remix and covers I think is an incredibly exciting product again because there is no one else that can really do this,” Söderström said. “Normal generative music will happen with or without us. This product will not happen without us, and it needs to exist so that existing artists can can participate in this.”
Spotify also said a research preview of the remix and covers product will initially be released to a subset of users. The company did not announce a launch date.
The Merlin agreement builds on Spotify's broader collaboration with record companies around AI music. Last October, Merlin joined Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony Music, Believe and others in establishing principles for artist-first AI music products, including artist opt-in, partnerships with rights holders, fair compensation, and protecting the relationship between artists and fans.
The announcement also comes as music industry organizations continue working on broader standards for AI-generated music. In recent weeks, the RIAA, IFPI, the American Association of Independent Music and others proposed a voluntary labeling system distinguishing fully AI-generated songs from AI-assisted works. Separately, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony Music, HYBE, Believe, BMG and other companies proposed principles for AI music chart eligibility. Neither proposal has been adopted.
This analysis is based on reporting from Billboard.
Image courtesy of The Verge.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
