The tool will launch as a paid add-on for Spotify Premium users and create a new revenue stream for participating artists and songwriters
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A new pair of licensing agreements between Spotify $SPOT and Universal Music Group, covering both recorded music and publishing rights, will give Spotify the legal foundation to build generative AI tools through which fans can produce covers and remixes featuring songs from UMG's participating artists and songwriters.
Artists and songwriters whose music is used in the feature would receive earnings beyond their existing Spotify royalties, the companies said, and access to the tool would require a paid upgrade from standard Spotify Premium subscriptions. Financial terms were not disclosed, and it is unclear when the feature will launch, according to Billboard.
UMG's roster includes Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Drake, and Billie Eilish, Reuters reported. Neither company named the specific artists whose catalogs would be included.
"What we're building is grounded in consent, credit, and compensation for the artists and songwriters that take part," Spotify co-CEO Alex Norström said in a statement.
UMG Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge said in a statement that the initiative is "designed to support human artistry, deepen fan relationships, and create additional revenue opportunities for artists and songwriters."
According to Reuters, the agreement represents Spotify's first venture into user-generated AI content, a space where it will now compete more directly against AI music startups like Udio and Suno.
The announcement was made as part of Spotify's Investor Day presentation, according to Billboard. The groundwork for Thursday's announcement stretches back to last autumn, when Spotify disclosed a broader partnership with all three major labels — UMG, Sony $SONY Music Group, and Warner Music Group — along with Believe and Merlin, and revealed it had established a dedicated generative AI research lab and product team to pursue those efforts.
The remixing use case has emerged as a relatively palatable application of AI for the music industry, with companies like Udio, Hook, and Klay among those developing products that let users modify licensed recordings rather than conjure entirely new compositions from scratch — an approach widely framed as a way to bring fans closer to the artists they love. The broader push by top labels to secure favorable licensing terms reflects growing unease about AI music's rising prominence and the difficulty listeners face in distinguishing it from human-made recordings, added Reuters.
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