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Spotify co-CEO Alex Norström is now defending the company’s expansion into AI-generated remixes, claiming it offers an alternative to unregulated AI “slop.” But the industry is still scratching its head on what this product implementation will look like, and when v1 will arrive.
Last week, Spotify announced a new feature for premium users, enabling them to create their own AI-generated remixes and covers using music from participating artists. It’s part of a deal with Universal Music Group, the signing of which launched Spotify stock up by 16%.
That’s a nice Wall Street bump for SPOT, though serious questions remain on whether a UMG-driven ‘walled garden’ AI implementation will fly. So far, the details on the deal and eventual product upgrade remain incredibly thin, with far more questions than answers floating around.
In terms of the broad strokes, Spotify’s chief executive Alex Norström said that the company is looking to offer a “controlled” alternative to piracy and unregulated AI content, with artists who consent to the use of their work unlocking another revenue stream.
“There’s a lot of rogue attempts at this,” he noted. Spotify’s feature will cost extra for premium subscribers, and will enable “one song to become 10,000.”
It’s not yet clear how the new feature will work, or whether such content will be shareable outside of the platform. It’s also not clear how Spotify might label such content, assuming it becomes released across the broader platform.
“I think if you are going to have AI music, it’s clearly better that you have AI music that is rooted in consent,” said Ed Newton-Rex, a composer and advocate for protecting artists’ rights. “The big question will be whether fans can share remixes they make for other people to listen to. If they can, I think you get into dangerous territory. These AI remixes will flood Spotify and drown out other songs, which will in turn put pressure on more musicians to sign up to the AI remix feature.”
For Spotify, it’s simply another means to remain part of the conversation.
The company has added tons of features to the platform over the past couple of years, leading many users to complain about bloat. But Spotify is willing to throw spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks if it means retaining market dominance.
On Tuesday (May 26), the company announced a rollout of AI-narrated articles from publications like Rolling Stone, Vogue, Variety, and more, as a feature for users paying for access to audiobooks. More than 650 long-form magazine articles in English will be available at launch.
Norström said that Spotify has already captured around 20% of the audiobook market in the United States alone. Since launching audiobooks on the platform two years ago, Spotify has already expanded the offering into 22 markets.