Warner, Universal, and Sony strike licensing deals with AI music startup Klay

Major music labels – Universal Music Group, Sony Music, and Warner Music Group – have signed separate AI licensing agreements with an AI music startup, Klay.

In an announcement shared on its website, Warner Music Group talks about the deals between Klay and three music label giants, as well as their publishing arms.

“These agreements establish terms on which KLAY will help further evolve music experiences for fans, leveraging the potential of AI, while fully respecting the rights of artists, songwriters, and rightsholders,” Warner Music Group says.

The company claims that Klay is different from generation engines designed to replace human artists. Rather, “it is an entirely new subscription product that will uplift great artists and celebrate their craft.”

Klay has reportedly been building its licensing framework for an AI-driven music experience and is working to include all independent labels, artists, publishers, and songwriters in this framework.

There is not much detail offered about Klay’s exact functioning in the release, but Bloomberg, which first reported news about the future announcement, said that its product will function like a streaming service, amplified by AI technology that will let users remake songs in different styles.

Klay, in general, is positioning itself as a positive new vector for the industry, promising that artists and songwriters will be properly recognised and rewarded.

The company’s leadership includes former President, Global Digital Business & US Sales & Distribution at Sony Music Entertainment, Thomas Hesse; music producer Ary Attie; former leader of Google DeepMind’s music initiatives, Björn Winckler; and former Principal Scientist at Spotify and Founder of The Echo Nest, Brian Whitman.

“Our goal is always to support and elevate the creativity of our artists and songwriters, while fiercely protecting their rights and works. From day one, KLAY has taken the right approach to the rapidly-evolving AI universe by creating a holistic platform that both expands artistic possibilities and preserves the value of music,” said Carletta Higginson, EVP, Chief Digital Officer at WMG.

Labels and artists around the world are often involved in costly legal battles with AI companies over the usage of their music. Recently, Sir Elton John condemned the British government for proposing to relax copyright laws to allow AI developers to train their models on any material to which they have lawful access.

Earlier in November, German music rights group GEMA won a copyright case against OpenAI for training its AI on copyrighted content from nine German songs, including works by Kristina Bach, Rolf Zuckowski, and best-selling musician Herbert Grönemeyer.

GEMA also sued AI music generator Suno, claiming that its AI tool was trained with recordings from GEMA’s catalog. This is akin to similar lawsuits – for instance, Danish music rights organization Koda sued Suno on similar grounds, and major labels including Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group have brought legal action against Suno over copyright infringement.