Following the initial legal battle launched by major American record labels against Suno and Udio, YouTube seems to have taken notice and has opened talks with record labels to train its own AI music generator.
According to the Financial Times, the Google-owned video platform is negotiating with Sony, Warner, and Universal to license their songs and use them in the training of AI music generators. The company has offered significant sums of money to the major labels to convince more artists to allow their music to be used in AI software training, according to sources familiar with the discussions. However, many artists strongly oppose AI-generated music, fearing it could devalue their work. Any move by a label to force their artists into such a scheme would be highly controversial.
Last year, YouTube began testing a generative AI tool called "Dream Track", which allows users to create short music clips by entering a descriptive text prompt. Only 10 artists, including Charli XCX, Troye Sivan, and John Legend, agreed to participate in the test phase. YouTube aims to sign up "dozens" of artists to launch a new AI song generator this year, according to two FT sources.
The new AI tool from YouTube, which will likely not carry the Dream Track brand, could become part of the YouTube Shorts platform, which competes with TikTok.
YouTube's latest move comes as the major record labels sued two AI startups, Suno and Udio, on Monday, accusing them of illegally using copyrighted recordings to train their AI models. A music industry group is seeking "up to $150,000 per infringed work," according to the lawsuits.
YouTube's involvement in AI music generation marks a significant shift in the music industry, as record labels and tech companies navigate the evolving landscape of AI technology and copyright issues.