Universal Music signs deal to train AI to make “ultra-high fidelity vocal models” of its artists
Singers would retain ownership of the AI product and would have full artistic approval and control over how it is used.
Universal headquarters. Credit: Valerie Macon/Getty
Universal Music has inked a deal with artificial intelligence start-up SoundLabs to create “official ultra-high fidelity vocal models for artists using their own voice data for training while retaining control over ownership and giving them full artistic approval and control of the output”.
The deal means that singers on Universal’s roster can train AI models using their own voices and retain ownership of the results. They will also have full control over how they’re used. In theory, this could also mean they could record a new album without actually singing a single word themselves.
In a press release, Universal Music say: “It empowers artists and producers to explore bleeding-edge vocal transformations, including voice-to-voice, voice-to-instrument, speech-to-singing, language transposition, and a myriad of previously impossible vocal transformations. Together, UMG and SoundLabs are collaborating to allow UMG artists to create custom vocal models that will be available for their exclusive creative use cases, and not available to the general public.”
“It’s a tremendous honour to be working with the forward-thinking and creatively aligned Universal Music Group,” adds SoundLabs founder BT, who famously worked on the 1986 hit Blue Skies, featuring Tori Amos. “We believe the future of music creation is decidedly human.
“Artificial intelligence, when used ethically and trained consensually, has the Promethean ability to unlock unimaginable new creative insights, diminish friction in the creative process and democratise creativity for artists, fans, and creators of all stripes.
“We are designing tools not to replace human artists, but to amplify human creativity.”
Although the use of AI in music remains controversial, its use is accelerating fast; almost two-thirds of young creatives are embracing AI in their music making, according to a recent study.
