Universal makes deal to train AI data, still sues AI companies for using its data

Universal Music Group (UMG)one of the largest record labels in the world, has actively announced the impact of artificial intelligence on the music industry, even going as far as sue AI companies.

But even UMG wants its data to help train generative AI if it can control who can use its copyright and build AI models.

UMG has announced that it will partner with the AI ​​company Clay Vishn to help train generative music AI models “ethically and with full respect for copyright.” The model will help create commercially available music generated by artificial intelligence, which will also include protection of creators’ rights to similarity.

“Research is critical to building the foundation for AI music, but the technology is just an empty vessel if it’s not connected to the culture it’s meant to serve,” said Ari Etty, founder and CEO of Klay, in a press release . .

This isn’t the first time UMG has struck a deal to offer its content for AI licensing, while allowing it to shape the way AI models music. UMG signs deal with YouTube become part of parent Alphabet’s Music AI Incubator. This too worked with SoundLabs to help create voice models for artists.

Clay and UMG said the goal is to responsibly build music-based AI models that the companies hope will “significantly reduce the threat to human creators and maximize the opportunity for transformation, creating significant new avenues for creativity and future monetization.” copyright”.

The companies did not specify what the AI-based music model will do.

A known legal process

The music industry is notorious for litigation, strictly protecting its copyrights and licenses. After all, these are the same music labels that tried to kill music downloads. The industry has been involved in congressional hearings on legal protections for copyright and artists’ rights of publicity.

UMG and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Sony Music and Warner Music Group’s Atlantic Records filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Suno and Udio. The labels claimed that the two startups copied the songs, and that when they were asked to create similar-sounding songs, the platforms returned the same songs with different lyrics. And Udio and Suno denied the charges.

Labels, again Universal, sued Anthropicthe company behind Claude for distributing the lyrics without permission.

Predominant participation

While record labels want to protect their copyrights, the partnerships the companies are forging indicate a trend of industries adopting an “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” attitude toward AI.

Music labels see that they cannot stop the creation of AI-generated songs and prevent AI models from learning from publicly released music. Thanks to these deals with AI startups, labels like UMG, which owns other record labels that feature artists like Taylor Swift and Chappelle Rohan, can make (even more) money from their royalties.

It also allows companies to exercise some control over who can use their data, something other industries are also seeking. For example, media companies have signed agreements with companies like OpenAI, Perplexity, Google and now Meta, which is simple has signed its first AI news partnership from Reuters.

Vicki Nauman, founder of music tech consultancy Cross Border Works, told VentureBeat in an email that when new technologies like artificial intelligence “break into the music sector, there is usually a burst of innovation along with legal issues around rights to music”.

“All rights holders, big and small, see that generative AI is here to stay, and it’s in everyone’s best interest to create a sustainable legal market,” Nauman said. “The downside is that these deals take time and negotiation, so it doesn’t happen overnight.”

Music labels will no doubt continue to sue AI companies if they believe they are infringing copyrights, but record labels will also no doubt want to shape how AI music is created to fit the image that best suits them.