Warner Music Group acquires Sureel AI to enhance AI music capabilities

Through the acquisition, WMG aims to better track when its artists' work is used in AI-generated content or for training AI models.

For years, UMG has pushed platforms, streaming services, and AI companies to implement stricter content moderation policies

Spotify and Universal Music Group (UMG) announced a licensing deal that will allow users to prompt the creation of AI-generated remixes and covers for streaming songs. The tool will be a paid add-on for Premium subscribers. Artists will be able to opt out of the program, but those who do participate will collect royalties on these AI remixes. In October of last year, Spotify announced that it was working with UMG, as well as other major labels, Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group, Merlin, and Believe, to create "responsible AI products." At the time, it was unclear exactly what that meant. But this appears to be the first product of that p … Read the full story at The Verge.

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on how AI is changing music and the music industry, follow Terrence O'Brien. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started The use of generative AI in pop music started almost as a gimmick. There was a sense of experimentalism to 2018's I AM AI by Taryn Southern and 2019's Proto by Holly Herndon, albums that were created with significant assistance from AI. Others got in on the action too, exploring the outer limits of tools like Google's Magenta and even training their own mod … Read the full story at The Verge.