The head of Spotify has asserted that he has no intention of completely forbidding AI-generated content from the audio streaming service.
Earlier in 2020, the streaming service took down a song which used AI-generated impersonations of Drake and The Weeknd as the vocalists.
Daniel Ek stated to the BBC that there are legitimate ways to employ technology in music production - however, AI should not be utilized to imitate human performers without their approval.
He indicated that the utilization of AI in music would be a topic of discussion for a long time.
Mr Ek, rarely addressing the media, asserted that he observed three "bins" of AI use.
He cautioned that the industry was confronting a tricky situation when asked about the challenge.
AI is proscribed in all its manifestations on the platform; its content is strictly forbidden to be employed in training a machine learning or AI model which can then generate music.
More and more artists are raising their voices in opposition to the implementation of AI in the artistic realm.
Hozier, an Irish musician, declared last month that he was willing to go on strike due to concerns regarding the potential impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on his profession.
He informed BBC Newsnight that he was unsure if the tech qualified as art according to the definition.
Drake and The Weeknd were completely unaware of clones of their voices being featured on Heart on My Sleeve; thus, the song was taken off of Spotify and other streaming services in April.
Ghostwriter, the creator of the track, sought to have it nominated for a Grammy award, yet this attempt was unsuccessful.
Mr Ek stated that Spotify has seen just about every kind of attempt to take advantage of their system in the past, including people claiming to be Madonna even when they're not, such as when someone uploaded a song.
Our sizable team is diligently tackling these matters.
In May, the Financial Times uncovered that a number of tracks had been taken off Spotify as bots were being utilized to manipulate their streaming numbers.
Mr Ek discussed the platform's massive investment in podcasts, including those from renowned people like Michelle and Barack Obama and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. None of them had their contracts renewed.
A reported deal of $25m (£18m) was made with Harry and Meghan, with just 12 episodes occurring over the course of two and a half years. A Spotify executive allegedly spoke critically about their dedication to their job.
Mr Ek confessed that when it comes to their attempt to challenge Apple as the market-leading podcast platform by enlisting many new creators, not all of it has been successful.
Five years ago, podcasting had not yet been embraced by Spotify.
The firm affirmed that Russell Brand's podcast will stay on Spotify, barring any material that has broken its regulations.
Acast, the owner of the podcast in question, announced that they have halted any advertising revenue from the podcast as the comedian who hosts it is still under investigation for sexual assault accusations.
Whilst visiting the UK, Daniel Ek, from Sweden, voiced his opinion on the new regulations being implemented. He shared that the company is in favour of the Online Safety Bill, which has the intention of making the web a more secure place for children, and the Digital Markets Bill, designed to help boost competition by closely observing the tech big-wigs.
For some time now, Mr Ek has been outspoken in his criticism of the practices of Apple and Google, whose app stores are utilized by Spotify. Both firms collect a fee of 15% for in-app purchases from lesser developers with revenue of more than $1m, facing a 30% commission.
Spotify has criticised Apple for making it difficult to interact directly with its patrons and advertise its offerings elsewhere.
Mr Ek declared that there are effectively only two firms that regulate how four billion people get online.
"If you consider a business such as Spotify, where practically 70% of our revenues are returned to the creative sector, if we reduce the amount from our cut to 30%, it practically translates to us having nothing left, which would mean shutting down."
In April of last year, the European Commission (EC) received a complaint from Spotify pertaining to Apple's actions in violation of EU competition rules. Subsequently, the EC reduced the level of the objection in February but no definitive decision has been established.
Apple declared its ongoing collaboration with the EC. The tech giant in addition pointed out that a huge number of European developers, who make a revenue of less than $1m annually, will pay a 15% commission rate to Apple.
Comments