Spotify wants subscribers to pay to remix songs with AI, and the three major record labels will decide how much of the catalog that covers.
The streamer has already struck licensing agreements with Universal Music Group, according to the reporting. It is reportedly negotiating with Sony Music and Warner Music for the rest. The feature would let subscribers rework songs using AI, and it would carry a price rather than come bundled for free.
The licensing is the real story. A remix starts from an existing recording, and those recordings belong to the labels. Universal, Sony and Warner together control a very large share of what people stream, so a remix tool with only one of them signed would cover a fraction of the catalog. Spotify has one of the three and two to go.
The approach also stands apart from how much of AI music has gone so far. Labels have spent the past few years in conflict with AI music generators that were built first and cleared with rights holders later, including lawsuits over how those systems were trained. A tool that begins with signed agreements sits at the opposite end of that spectrum.