YouTube is currently developing an AI powered tool which will allow creators to record audio using the voice of famous musicians.
The company has approached music companies to obtain the rights to songs for training the tool. Major record labels have yet to sign any deals, however discussions are continuing.
Last month, YouTube rolled out a bunch of new tools leveraging AI, including one where creators can design backgrounds for videos, and one that allows automatic dubbing into other languages.
This tool was hoped to be able to roll out at the same time, but no rights had been secured.
The legal intersection between AI and creative works using people’s names, images, and likeness is still be fledged out, and has already led to litigation.
YouTube will have to navigate a path to legally use this new technology. It already had a rocky relationship previously with the music industry, but this has improved recently, with the site increasing royalty payments.
YouTube is owned by Alphabet Inc., which has been developing AI products for years, and is in a race with many companies, including Microsoft, to be a leader in what could be the next great frontier in technology.
The music industry sees AI as a promising new technology and major threat. With a rise in piracy and user-generated content, the industry was decimated before companies such as Spotify emerged.
Artists are recognising these tools could open opportunities for creative expressions, however want to control the ability to use their copyrighted works to train AI models without permission or compensation.
YouTube wants to become a partner to help the industry figure out the technology, and music companies are receptive. There has been agreeance to work with YouTube on a new project around AI and music.
