Universal Music Group Signs Deal With AI Startup Endel

May 25, 2023

Universal Music Group (UMG) has introduced a partnership with Endel, an organization that makes use of AI to generate soundscapes meant to facilitate work, meditation, and sleep. UMG will license use Endel’s know-how to allow its artists to create what it calls “science-backed” soundscapes designed to “improve listeners’ wellness.” The deal consists of each new music and new variations of catalog music.

Endel’s mannequin components in variables like climate, time of day, location, and coronary heart fee when customizing its audio streams for particular person customers. Earlier collaborations embrace tasks with Grimes, Miguel, Richie Hawtin, and UMG artist James Blake.

In a press release, UMG’s Chief Digital Officer Michael Nash stated:

“At UMG, we consider within the unbelievable potential of moral AI as a software to assist and improve the creativity of our artists, labels and songwriters, one thing that Endel has harnessed with spectacular ingenuity and scientific innovation. We’re excited to work collectively and make the most of their patented AI know-how to create new music soundscapes—anchored in our artist-centric philosophy—which might be designed to boost viewers wellness, powered by AI that respects artists’ rights in its improvement.”

The generative components of Endel’s tech are designed to allow musicians to make use of AI to scale their music advert infinitum, creating perpetually regenerating artworks in their very own type. “We’re in a position to create albums with the push of a button,” co-founder and chief composer Dmitry Evgrafov told Pitchfork final yr.

On April 14, a TikTok person uploaded a track referred to as “Heart on My Sleeve,” which purported to make use of AI to simulate the type and voice of UMG artists Drake and The Weeknd. UMG responded with a takedown discover. Three days later James Murtagh-Hopkins, UMG’s senior vp of communications, issued a press release condemning using copyrighted music to coach AI fashions, calling on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music to dam AI platforms from doing simply that:

“UMG’s success has been, partially, because of embracing new know-how and placing it to work for our artists–as we now have been doing with our personal innovation round AI for a while already. With that stated, nonetheless, the coaching of generative AI utilizing our artists’ music (which represents each a breach of our agreements and a violation of copyright legislation) in addition to the supply of infringing content material created with generative AI on DSPs, begs the query as to which aspect of historical past all stakeholders within the music ecosystem wish to be on: the aspect of artists, followers and human inventive expression, or on the aspect of deep fakes, fraud and denying artists their due compensation.

These cases reveal why platforms have a elementary authorized and moral accountability to stop using their providers in ways in which hurt artists. We’re inspired by the engagement of our platform companions on these points–as they acknowledge they have to be a part of the answer.”