
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Google and Universal Music Group are discussing whether to license artists’ melodies and vocals for AI-generated music, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6f022306-2f83-4da7-8066-51386e8fe63b?list=intlhomepage" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a> to the <em>Financial Times</em>, following a recent trend of music produced by artificial intelligence that has faced backlash—and support—from music labels and artists.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Universal Music—which represents artists like Drake, Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift—and Google are working to develop a tool for users to create AI-generated music using an artist’s voice, lyrics or sounds, the&nbsp;<em>Financial Times</em>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6f022306-2f83-4da7-8066-51386e8fe63b?list=intlhomepage" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.</p>



<p>A deal would pay copyright holders for the right to create the music, while artists would have the choice to opt in.</p>



<p>Warner Music Group is also discussing a similar product with Google, according to the&nbsp;<em>Times</em>.</p>



<p>Neither Google nor Universal Music immediately responded to requests for comment from&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl&nbsp;<a href="https://investors.wmg.com/events/event-details/q3-2023-warner-music-group-earnings-conference-call" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;during the company’s earnings call Tuesday that “with the right framework in place” artificial intelligence would be able to “enable fans to pay their heroes the ultimate compliment through a new level of user-driven content.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chief-critic">CHIEF CRITIC</h2>



<p>Drake voiced his opposition to AI-produced music earlier this year after he was featured in several deepfakes,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/drake-reacts-ice-spice-munch-ai-1235303454/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">suggesting</a>&nbsp;after one song was released: “This is the last straw.” Sting said there was “going to be a battle” between “human capital” and AI, which he said “doesn’t impress me at all,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65627089" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the BBC.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contra">CONTRA</h2>



<p>Several artists have supported the development of AI-generated music, including Grimes, who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/grimes-drake-the-weeknd-ai-music-1234726521/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;anyone could create songs using her voice “without penalty” as long as she receives a 50% split on royalties. Paul McCartney&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/06/13/ai-you-need-is-love-artificial-intelligence-helps-create-final-beatles-song-paul-mccartney-says/?sh=4c263c571275">announced</a>&nbsp;in June a new Beatles song would be released later this year, after McCartney said AI was used to “extricate” John Lennon’s voice from an old demo tape to create “the final Beatles record.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Regulations and restrictions for music generated by artificial intelligence have increased in recent months. Universal Music sent a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/aec1679b-5a34-4dad-9fc9-f4d8cdd124b9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">letter</a>&nbsp;to streaming services in April requesting they prevent AI programs from accessing its platforms to train on copyrighted lyrics and melodies. Universal Music general counsel Jeffrey Harleston&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoCJun7gkbA&amp;ab_channel=CNBCTelevision" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;during a Senate hearing last month that “an artist’s voice is often the most valuable part of their livelihood and public persona.” The U.S. Copyright Office noted it will only offer copyright to works “created by a human being” and not “register works produced by a machine.” Google&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.google/technology/ai/musiclm-google-ai-test-kitchen/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">released</a>&nbsp;an experimental AI tool for created music in May, which develops a song based on a text prompt. Meta&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/irenebenedicto/2023/08/02/meta-launches-tool-to-create-music-using-ai-heres-what-to-know/?sh=41419a9e444d">released</a>&nbsp;its own AI tool for creating music earlier this month, which is trained on 20,000 hours of licensed music owned by Meta.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6f022306-2f83-4da7-8066-51386e8fe63b?list=intlhomepage" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google And Universal Music Negotiate Deal Over AI ‘Deepfakes’</a>&nbsp;(<em>Financial Times</em>)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/irenebenedicto/2023/08/02/meta-launches-tool-to-create-music-using-ai-heres-what-to-know/?sh=41419a9e444d">Meta Launches Tool To Create Music Using AI—Here’s What To Know</a>&nbsp;(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/05/03/ai-generated-music-is-here-sung-by-stars-like-drake-and-ariana-grande-but-it-may-be-very-illegal/?sh=612b5343aa32">AI-Generated Music Is Here—‘Sung’ By Stars Like Drake And Ariana Grande—But It May Be Very Illegal</a> (<em>Forbes</em>)</p>


Headphones, Amplifying Equipment, Studio Audio Mixer Knobs And Faders. Sound Engineering Equipment. Selective Focus. The photo is covered with sand and noise. Wireless and electronic technologies. Equipment in a nightclub, on television, radio studio.

Google And Universal Music Group Negotiating AI-Generated Music Tool, Report Says


<p>After deleting a tweet Monday declaring that he would not release new music until he is released from his contracts with Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Universal, Kanye West on Tuesday shared a screenshot of what appeared to be a text message conversation with an unnamed advisor who proposed potential game plans and claimed West’s masters are worth more than Taylor Swift’s. </p>



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h5>



<p>West, who has been open about his diagnosis as bipolar,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/9448889/kanye-west-not-releasing-music-sony-universal-contracts" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;he’s &#8220;not putting no more music out till I’m done with my contract with Sony and Universal.</p>



<p>&#8220;West demanded to see “everybody’s contracts” at Sony and Universal and said he would not “watch my people be enslaved” and would put his “life on the line” for them, comparing the music industry and the NBA to “modern day slave ships” and himself to Moses.&nbsp;</p>



<p>West&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1305865222473777152/photo/1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;Tuesday that he had not heard from Universal or Sony and that it was “go time,” including the apparent conversation with his advisor who shared three possible strategies.&nbsp;</p>



<p>West’s advisor claimed they could argue that Universal and Sony breached their contract by not supporting West “fully,” noting “this is the lawsuit/termination nuclear option” and would mean they would litigate and ask for his masters as part of a settlement agreement.&nbsp;</p>



<p>West, who&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;this year estimated had become a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2020/04/24/kanye-west-is-now-officially-a-billionaireand-he-really-wants-the-world-to-know/">billionaire</a>, could buy his masters or re-record them, “but if Taylor’s cost $300 million yours would cost a lot more I assume,” the advisor said referring to Scooter Braun’s 2019 acquisition of the label Big Machine Records from Scott Borchetta.</p>



<p>West could also propose a Yeezy Media and Universal joint venture that is “equal and not one sided,” but West replied he is “not open to any form of business with Universal or Sony.”</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter aligncenter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1305671043097468928?s=20
</div></figure>



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h5>



<p>Braun’s Ithaca Holdings last year bought Big Machine Records, which had owned the rights to the master recordings of Swift’s first six albums, reportedly for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/scooter-braun-makes-300-million-deal-for-big-machine-records-11561893008?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D33853874586699366404617219261671207054%7CMCAID%3D%7CMCORGID%3DCB68E4BA55144CAA0A4C98A5%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1600190992" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$300 million</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h5>



<p>Swift, who signed with Big Machine Records in 2005 when she was 15 years old, said she learned about the label’s sale when everyone else did. In a Tumblr&nbsp;<a href="https://taylorswift.tumblr.com/post/185958366550/for-years-i-asked-pleaded-for-a-chance-to-own-my?mod=article_inline" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">post</a>, she said she had “pleaded” for a chance to own her work for years and knew it was likely that Borchetta would sell the label. She said she felt betrayed that he sold it to Braun, who she said bullied her for years, sometimes alongside West. She often alludes to it in her new album&nbsp;<em>Folklore</em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h5>



<p>$1.3 billion. That’s West’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/kanye-west/#37b650d056f1">net worth</a>, according to&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>. West owns 100% of his fashion brand Yeezy which pulled in an estimated<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/kanye-west/#3986273556f1">&nbsp;$1.3 billion</a>&nbsp;in sales in 2019.</p>



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h5>



<p>Watch to see if West moves forward with any of the deals reportedly proposed by his advisor or if he is busy focusing on his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/elanagross/2020/09/08/kanye-west-now-on-ballot-in-12-states-after-qualifying-in-mississippi/#3a2aacf8712c">presidential campaign</a>. West had previously tweeted that he would release a new album&nbsp;<em>Donda</em>&nbsp;in July.</p>



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h5>



<p><a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/9448889/kanye-west-not-releasing-music-sony-universal-contracts" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kanye West Declares Himself ‘New Moses,’ Says He Won’t Release New Music Till Freed From Universal and Sony/ATV Deals</a>&nbsp;(<em>Billboard</em>) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/scooter-braun-makes-300-million-deal-for-big-machine-records-11561893008?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D33853874586699366404617219261671207054%7CMCAID%3D%7CMCORGID%3DCB68E4BA55144CAA0A4C98A5%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1600190992" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scooter Braun Makes $300 Million Deal for Big Machine Records&nbsp;</a>(<em>Wall Street Journal</em>)</p>


Tag: Universal Music Group

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Google And Universal Music Group Negotiating AI-Generated Music Tool, Report Says

Kanye West Says He Won’t Release Music Until He’s Freed From Contracts, Claims His Masters Worth More Than Taylor Swift’s