YouTube and UMG Team Up to Launch AI Music Tools

YouTube and UMG are partnering up to turn AI music’s potentially destructive impacts into positives. The new duo have announced a plan to “develop an AI framework” of their own design.

Catch me up: The move comes as AI soundalike fakes are popping up everywhere, infringing on the work of songwriters, publishers, labels and artists. Many (including UMG chief Lucian Grainge) have sounded the alarm. Now the music industry is getting in the game. 

What's the deal? The plan is called the “Music AI Incubator,” and promises an “artist-centric approach to AI innovation.” UMG rightsholders are on board as a test batch and their work will help power an initial round of totally legal AI generation using commercial music. YouTube then plans to scale the model up by “bolstering Content ID investments,” and using AI powered video monitoring tools to sniff out infringement before it goes live. 

Who’s involved? So far, UMG creators Rodney Jerkins, Anitta, Björn Ulvaeus, Ryan Tedder, Yo Gotti, and the Frank Sinatra estate. Others are expected to be invited as the program continues.

What they're saying: “While some may find my decision controversial, I’ve joined this group with an open mind and purely out of curiosity about how an AI model works and what it could be capable of in a creative process,” said Björn Ulvaeus in a statement. (That's the guy from ABBA!) “I believe that the more I understand, the better equipped I’ll be to advocate for and to help protect the rights of my fellow human creators.”