Spotify expands AI remix and covers project with Merlin partnership

During its second-quarter net telephone connected Tuesday, Spotify again teased the upcoming merchandise of a caller merchandise that volition let euphony fans to leverage AI to marque covers and remixes of artists’ music, with the artists’ consent.

The institution also announced that Merlin, a licensing spouse for autarkic labels and distributors, has present joined Universal Music Group (UMG) connected the caller AI euphony effort. The woody brings much than 30,000 labels from Merlin’s web to the product, which volition let fan-made covers and remixes by artists who hold to participate.

Spotify has positioned its AI euphony merchandise arsenic being importantly antithetic from the much arguable AI euphony startups that person been utilized to make afloat artificial songs. Instead, Spotify co-CEO Gustav Söderström told investors connected Tuesday’s telephone that the company’s AI euphony merchandise volition beryllium astir “real artists, not fake artists.”

“We privation artists to beryllium consenting [to add] their enactment into this catalog, truthful radical tin play astir with covers and remixes based connected their art,” added co-CEO Alex Norström. “We besides evidently privation to springiness them credit. And past but not least…we not lone person the consent and springiness credit, but we besides thrust the compensation for this. So, really, we’re talking astir the archetypal ineligible mode to partake successful this AI tailwind that we spot coming for interactive music,” helium said.

AI euphony has flooded streaming services. Music streamer Deezer precocious noted that more than 50% of regular way uploads were generated with AI, up from 10% successful January 2025.

The institution told investors that a probe preview of the instrumentality remix and covers merchandise would initially beryllium made disposable to a subset of users. Spotify besides noted that it would not necessitate a afloat euphony catalog to get started. The institution did not accidental erstwhile the preview would arrive.

The caller instrumentality volition motorboat arsenic a paid add-on, creating an further gross watercourse for artists, Spotify antecedently said.

“Our remix and covers I deliberation is an incredibly breathtaking merchandise again due to the fact that determination is nary 1 other that tin truly bash this,” Söderström said. “Normal generative euphony volition hap with oregon without us. This merchandise volition not hap without us, and it needs to beryllium truthful that existing artists tin can enactment successful this.”