Universal Music Group partners with "ethical AI music company" KLAY Vision

The two companies will work together to develop AI music tools that also respect copyright laws

There are seemingly very few areas where AI is more controversial than its use in the creation of art: nearly 90% of artists believe current copyright laws do not protect them from generative AI technology and over 74% believe the current method of scraping the internet for artwork is unethical.

And it's not just artists that have strong feelings about this; earlier this year, the movie "Late Night With the Devil" received strong backlash from fans over the use of artificial intelligence for some of the artwork displayed in the film. 

The use of AI in art is not going away, however, but Universal Music Group (UMG) says it will do so in a way that doesn't step on its artists, announcing a partnership with "ethical AI music company" KLAY Vision on Monday to develop AI music tools. 

Led by music producer Ary Attie, former President of Sony Music Entertainment Thomas Hesse, and Google Deepmind's Björn Winckler, KLAY says on its website that the company is "revolutionizing music creation and discovery at a global scale."

While details about that means practically are scarce at the moment, the company says it's building generative AI music models "ethically and fully respectful of copyright, as well as name and likeness rights," in order to "lessen the threat to human creators and stand the greatest opportunity to be transformational, creating significant new avenues for creativity and future monetization of copyrights."

KLAY also note that it is developing a global ecosystem to host AI-driven experiences and content, including accurate attribution, and says that it won't compete with artists’ catalogs in traditional music services.

“We are excited to partner with entrepreneurs like the team leading KLAY, to explore new opportunities and ethical solutions for artists and the wider music ecosystem, advancing generative AI technology in ways that are both respectful of copyright and have the potential to profoundly impact human creativity," Michael Nash, Executive Vice President, and Chief Digital Officer of Universal Music said in a statement.

"UMG has always endeavored to lead the music industry in driving innovation, embracing new technologies and supporting entrepreneurship while protecting human artistry."

This announcement follows a partnership between UMG and SoundLabs, an AI technology company offering responsibly trained AI tools for music creators, in June. The collaboration allows UMG’s artists and producers to use SoundLabs MicDrop, an AI vocal plug-in, to create ultra-high fidelity vocal models for artists using their own voice data for training.

UMG is the world's largest music company, with artists such as Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Elton John. Despite the company's embrace of AI, a number of its artists have also called out the industry over the use of the technology. 

In April, 200 artists signed an open letter calling on AI developers, technology companies, and digital music services to "cease the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists." Among those who signed included Eilish, as well as other UMG artists including Jon Bon Jovi, Katy Perry, Zayn Malik, Nicki Minaj, Ja Rule, Jadakiss, Robert Smith, and the Jonas Brothers. 

(Image source: klay.vision)