YouTube Wants In On The AI Music Trend … But There’s A Pretty Big Catch
Record labels and artists are already voicing their concerns.
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Subscribe for free to get more stories like this directly to your inboxBy its very nature, the massively popular video sharing platform YouTube has faced more than a few copyright complaints over the years. The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence is only expected to increase those challenges significantly, and the Google-owned site is hoping its proactive steps will offer some legal protection down the road.
Asking for consent
An old axiom states that it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. When it comes to YouTube’s plans for AI song generators, however, that might not be true.
And the company seems to understand the risks, which is why it’s approaching record labels now in hopes of providing a sufficient financial incentive for them to provide artists’ songs as part of that AI training.
YouTube has reportedly made offers to several labels, though it remains to be seen whether they (or the artists signed to them) will be willing to negotiate.
One insider noted the tough situation labels find themselves in as artists remain generally opposed to seeing their creative work turned into fodder for AI copycats.
“The industry is wrestling with this,” the unnamed source acknowledged. “Technically the companies have the copyrights, but we have to think through how to play it.”
A tough sell
Startups Suno and Udio have faced serious pushback over their alleged use of copyrighted recordings to train AI and now face a lawsuit that could result in $150,000 fines for each such infringement.
And when YouTube first started using AI to create music with its “Dream Track” platform, just 10 artists agreed to participate.
Meanwhile, more than 200 artists or their estates signed a letter stating, in part: “Unchecked, AI will set in motion a race to the bottom that will degrade the value of our work and prevent us from being fairly compensated for it.”
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