UMG said that these tools will be powered by \u201cresponsibly trained generative AI and built to support the creative process of artists, producers and songwriters globally\u201d.<\/p>\n
According to the announcement today (October 30), through this alliance, Stability AI\u2019s research and product teams will \u201cwork closely with UMG and its artists to research artist needs and technical approaches for the next generation of music creation tools\u201d.<\/p>\n
It added: \u201cTogether, they will explore new recording and composition concepts, gather insights into artists\u2019 needs, and better understand how artists adopt and engage with these technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n
The news marks Universal Music Group\u2019s second significant AI music-making-related partnership in as many days. On Wednesday (October 29), UMG revealed that it has settled<\/a> its copyright infringement lawsuit against AI music platform Udio. The companies also agreed to collaborate on a new platform featuring licensed AI music, slated to launch in 2026.<\/p>\n Stability AI, known for its Stable Diffusion image generator and Stable Audio AI music model, will work with UMG\u2019s research and product teams to build software trained on licensed music catalogs.<\/p>\n The partnership with Stability AI will put UMG artists directly in the development process, gathering feedback on what creators need from AI-powered recording and composition tools, and \u201cbetter understand how artists adopt and engage with these technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n Through feedback with creators, UMG and Stability AI aim to create \u201cfully licensed, commercially safe AI music tools\u201d that \u201csupports both artists and rightsholders while preserving the integrity of the art form\u201d.<\/p>\n Stability\u00a0AI claims to be \u201cthe industry leader in commercially safe generative audio\u201d. It said that its \u201cStable\u00a0Audio<\/a> family of models was built specifically for professionals and trained exclusively on licensed data to support responsible, high-quality music and sound generation\u201d.<\/p>\n Commenting on the deal with Stability AI, Michael Nash<\/a>, Chief Digital Officer & EVP, Universal Music Group, said: \u201cThis agreement is an extension of our fundamental orientation that our artists and songwriters are the cornerstone of our business.<\/p>\n \u201cWith AI, as with everything else we do, we start with what best supports our work to help them achieve creative and commercial success and build from that foundation to forge new and better commercial and creative opportunities.<\/p>\n Michael Nash, Universal Music Group<\/p>\n Added Nash: \u201cAnd as we\u2019ve made abundantly clear, we will only consider advancing AI tools and products based on models that are trained responsibly. We\u2019re looking forward to working with Stability AI to deeply integrate AI tools development with the vision and creative ambitions of our artists and to the results and rewards this initiative offers to all.\u201d<\/p>\n Prem Akkaraju, CEO of Stability AI, added: \u201cUMG has long been a leader in technological innovation in music. This partnership marks the next chapter of music creation.<\/p>\n \u201cAt Stability AI, we put the artist at the center and build AI around their unique needs because real transformation has always come from a combination of art and science.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUMG has long been a leader in technological innovation in music. This partnership marks the next chapter of music creation.\u201d<\/p>\n Prem Akkaraju, Stability AI<\/p>\n UMG says its deals with Udio and Stability AI are among the \u201cindustry-first AI-related agreements\u201d that it has struck with companies including YouTube<\/a>, TikTok, Meta, KDDI, KLAY Vision, BandLab, Soundlabs and Pro-Rata, among others.<\/p>\n For Stability AI, the UMG deal follows its recent strategic partnership with\u00a0Electronic Arts <\/a>to develop generative AI tools for game development and with marketing firm WPP<\/a> for advertising applications. The UMG deal extends its strategy into music production.<\/p>\n In July, Akkaraju\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0Financial Times\u00a0in an interview that\u00a0Stability AI is looking at developing<\/a> a marketplace where artists can license their work for AI training. The marketplace would reportedly allow creators to voluntarily submit artwork and receive compensation when AI companies use their content for model training.<\/p>\n Stability AI is currently facing multiple copyright infringement lawsuits. In one case, Seattle-based\u00a0Getty Images\u00a0sued<\/a>\u00a0Stability AI in both the UK and the US, alleging that the company illegally used\u00a012 million\u00a0images without permission or compensation.<\/p>\n Separately, illustrators\u00a0Sarah Andersen, Kelly McKernan,\u00a0and\u00a0Karla Ortiz\u00a0filed<\/a>\u00a0a class action lawsuit in January 2023 against Stability AI and two other companies, challenging the use of their works for AI model training.<\/p>\n\u201cThis agreement is an extension of our fundamental orientation that our artists and songwriters are the cornerstone of our business.\u201d<\/p>\n
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