During its second-quarter earnings call, Spotify revealed plans to launch an AI-driven product that enables fans to create covers and remixes of artists' music with their consent. The company also announced that Merlin, a licensing partner for independent labels and distributors, has joined Universal Music Group (UMG) on the new AI music initiative. This partnership brings more than 30,000 labels from Merlin’s network into the project, allowing fan-made covers and remixes by artists who agree to participate. Spotify has positioned its AI music product as distinct from other AI music startups that generate fully artificial songs. Instead, the company emphasized that its approach will focus on real artists and their consent, ensuring proper credit and compensation for creators. Spotify co-CEO Gustav Söderström told investors that the product would be the first legal way for artists to benefit from AI-driven music creation. “We want artists to be consenting [to add] their work into this catalog, so people can play around with covers and remixes based on their art,” he said. “We also obviously want to give them credit. And last but not least…we not only have the consent and give credit, but we also drive the compensation for this. So, really, we’re talking about the first legal way to partake in this AI tailwind that we see coming for interactive music,” he added. AI music has become increasingly prevalent in streaming services. Music streamer Deezer recently noted that more than 50% of daily track uploads were generated with AI, up from 10% in January 2025. The company told investors that a research preview of the fan remix and covers product would initially be made available to a subset of users. Spotify also noted that it would not require a full music catalog to get started. The company did not say when the preview would arrive. The new tool will launch as a paid add-on, creating an additional revenue stream for artists. “Our remix and covers I think is an incredibly exciting product again because there is no one else that can really do this,” Söderström said. “Normal generative music will happen with or without us. This product will not happen without us, and it needs to exist so that existing artists can participate in this.”
Source: techcrunch
