Record Labels Are Spinning Over AI Music

The music industry has always had to deal with big changes in technology. From vinyl records to cassette tapes to CDs to streaming, the way people listen to and buy music keeps shifting. Now, artificial intelligence — or AI — is creating a brand-new challenge. AI can make music on its own, and that is shaking up the entire industry in ways no one fully expected.

Every single day, about 90,000 AI-generated songs are uploaded to the music streaming service Deezer. That is nearly half of all the new songs added to the platform each day. Spotify, the world's biggest music streamer, says it removed 75 million "spammy tracks" in just one year. A lot of these songs are uploaded by automated programs called bots, which try to collect royalty payments illegally. But many real musicians also use AI tools to help them write and produce music, even if they don't always talk about it publicly.

One of the biggest arguments in the music world right now is whether AI music is even legal. Some major record labels have taken AI music companies to court, saying those companies stole their songs to train their AI systems. Two of the biggest labels — Universal Music Group and Sony Music — have sued an AI company called Suno. Suno is only four years old but is already worth about $5.4 billion. The labels say Suno used more than 60,000 copyrighted recordings without permission, including songs by artists like Avril Lavigne and Justin Timberlake.

Suno admits it used millions of recordings, including copyrighted ones, to train its AI. However, the company argues this is allowed under a legal idea called "fair use." Fair use means that sometimes it is okay to use someone else's work if you are turning it into something new and different. For example, Suno's founder played a reporter a gospel-style version of a Green Day song to show how the AI transforms music rather than just copying it. Courts have not yet decided who is right, and more than 100 similar lawsuits are happening across the United States.

While Universal and Sony keep fighting in court, another big label — Warner Music Group — chose a different path. Warner settled its lawsuit with Suno, meaning both sides agreed to stop fighting and work together instead. Warner's boss, Robert Kyncl, explained the thinking simply: court cases can drag on for years, and Warner would rather start making money from a deal now. "If I can get a partner to give up their fair-use argument and start paying us, why would I wait?" he said.

The settlement between Warner and Suno could lead to big changes for fans, too. Suno recently released a new version of its AI that was trained only on music it had licensed — meaning music it had permission to use. Artists and songwriters who agree to participate can earn a share of money when fans use their music to create AI-powered remixes or mashups. Warner has similar plans with Spotify and a company called ElevenLabs, which would let super-fans remix their favorite artists' music in new ways.

However, there is a major roadblock: so far, no big-name artists have publicly signed up for these programs. Many musicians worry about what it means for their art if AI can imitate their style. Without famous names on board, it is hard to know whether fans will actually be interested in these new AI-powered products. Music industry experts say that even with all this new technology, what makes a superstar is still rare and hard to copy — things like smart marketing, loyal fans, and a unique identity. If AI ever learns to replicate those things too, the entire music industry could be in serious trouble.