Universal Music Group, which represents both artists, claimed that using the duo's voices to train generative AI systems constituted “a breach of our agreements and a violation of copyright law." Both Spotify and Apple Music removed the song from their libraries. Universal Music's chief digital officer Michael Nash told the Financial Times, which first reported on Spotify removing Boomy's tracks, that his company is "always encouraged when we see our partners exercise vigilance around the monitoring or activity on their platforms."ĪI-generated music hit the headlines last month after a song that appeared to include vocals from Drake and The Weeknd went viral. This allows us to protect royalty payouts for honest, hardworking artists." "When we identify or are alerted to potential cases of stream manipulation, we mitigate their impact by taking action that may include the removal of streaming numbers and the withholding of royalties. “Artificial streaming is a longstanding, industry-wide issue that Spotify is working to stamp out across our service,” Spotify, which confirmed that it had taken down some Boomy tracks, told Insider. Spotify pays royalties to artists and rights holders on a per-listen basis. In other words, there were suspicions that bots were being used to boost listener figures and generate ill-gotten revenue for uploaders. Universal Music reportedly told Spotify and other major services that it detected suspicious streaming activity on Boomy's songs. It's said to have removed seven percent of the songs created by the startup's systems, which underscores the swift proliferation of AI-generated content on music streaming platforms. I turn off the AI DJ, and go look for a new album I haven’t heard yet.Spotify has reportedly pulled tens of thousands of tracks from generative AI company Boomy. I wonder why I need it at all.Īfter 30 minutes, I realize I’m just listening to my top-played songs. Soon, it only lets me know what artist is on deck. But after some time, the AI DJ starts to speak to me less and less. When I tap a button to change the genre, I get an amiable: “Not into it? I got you.” There’s no waiting around for a song I like to enter the rotation, as I do with the FM station in my car. But I assume that those looking for human curation will keep listening to, well, actual radio (or maybe rival Apple Music’s take on “curated” services, which taps experts like Ebro Darden, Zane Lowe, and Elton John as alternatives to algorithms.)įor the most part, the AI DJ wants to please me. The app’s promotional videos brand it as a kind of personalized crate-digger serving up deep cuts and commentary. It’s tough to imagine who, exactly, this feature is for. It was also happy to serve up songs supposedly “picked just for me” by their editors: indie and R&B playlists that seemed to hype up new releases. Was this “personalization”? I felt like the AI DJ was less picking out songs from its digital crystal ball of predictions and mostly just playing songs I’d listened to before. As I get a weather alert about an incoming snowstorm, it switches to my “favorite summer jams” from past years. It starts blasting three Celine Dion anthems I played nonstop during a particularly self-indulgent time in my life. With the tap of a button, it launches into a “look back at 2018”, but not the songs that came out that year – the songs I listened to. And it is a little scary just how much the AI DJ knows about me. “I know what you listen to, so I’m going to be here every day,” it told me, kind of threateningly. I liked the voice, even if it came off as stalker-ish. But more options could come in the future, the brand noted. He’s the head of Spotify’s cultural partnerships and host of The Get Up podcast, a daily morning show about pop culture that also gives listeners a “personalized playlist”.Īccording to a Spotify press release, “ personality and voice resonated with our listeners” well enough for him to land the gig as the “first model for the DJ”. While the honey-voiced guide to my listening session is not a real person, it’s based on one: Xavier “X” Jernigan. “Let’s keep this vibe going,” the voice says as I skip through the next songs: Television’s Marquee Moon, The Slits’ Typical Girls, and Jimmy Eat World’s The Middle. “With this generative AI tooling, our editors are able to scale their innate knowledge in ways never before possible,” said a press release. Spotify music editors also give the feature a boost, as they’re the ones who write up the fun facts the voice gives you every few songs. Like just about everything this year, it’s made with OpenAI, a chatbot known for its distinctively human – and sometimes quite creepy – responses. The feature is currently being rolled out, so you may have already noticed it on your Spotify app.
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