Spotify co-CEOs discuss AI remixing tool and artist consent

Spotify co-CEOs Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström told Billboard that releasing the company’s AI remixing tool will take time, not least because it depends on artists’ consent. Their comments followed the announcement that Paris-based Believe had joined Universal Music Group, Merlin and Kobalt in licensing its catalog for the service. Once launched, it will let fans create covers and remixes of songs by participating artists and songwriters.

Norström said support extends beyond those companies, with conversations under way with artists, rights holders and songwriters across the industry. Believe and its digital distributor TuneCore echoed Spotify’s “three C’s” approach: consent from artists and songwriters, credit on related works, and compensation from a royalty pool funded by the new service.

The tool will be sold as a paid add-on. The co-CEOs declined to discuss pricing, saying only that it will create new revenue for the industry and creators. Söderström described it as a way for artists to take part in AI and said Spotify is “the right company to do this”, pointing to the size of its royalty pool.

Spotify added 6 million net subscribers in the third quarter, 1 million above guidance, reaching 316 million premium subscribers, up from 71 million when it went public in 2018. In the 20 years since its founding, the company has paid $70 billion to music rights holders.

On 20 October, mbuzz reported that Spotify had removed more than 50 million songs it labels “AI spam” from recommendations.