If The Major Labels Strike A Deal With AI Music Generators, Artists Are In Trouble
There are reports that the three major labels are in the middle of licensing discussions with AI music generators Udio and Suno. If you’re an artist, just the thought of this should scare the crap out of you, as it’s yet another step down the road to purging real live artists from their rosters.
Don’t fall for the hype here. Udio and Suno are not tools for artists to get creative with. They’re consumer-oriented sites aimed at complete amateurs so they can create endless AI slop that’s clogging up creative portals and lowering royalty payouts for legitimate artists.
If a deal happens, the labels would reportedly get a license fee and equity in the platforms. Sound familiar? Yep, that’s what happened with Spotify. How’d that work out?
Most of the licensing money would likely end up on the label’s bottom lines, with a small token going to its artists. But that’s not the worry here.
It’s All About The Artists
What is the biggest impediment to the labels their profits to a new level? It’s the artists. They have to pay them, babysit them, and cajole them for product and marketing buy-in. What could be better than to eliminate them all together?
Seem far fetched? Consider that labels spend less money on artist development than ever. They only sign artists that already have done all the hard work of building an audience, and drop them like a hot potato if a release doesn’t earn out.
Not only that, in recent years the major labels have been buying more and more artists catalogs and publishing, so they no longer have to deal with the ups and downs of actually working to have hits.
Let’s Do Some Biz Together
It was only last year at this time when the labels actually sued the AI music generating services over training on their copyrighted material. Now it seems odd that they want to be in business with them.
Or does it?
Anything involved with AI is hot right now and investors are throwing money at it. Last year, Suno raised $125 million from investors giving it a value of $500 million. Udio raised another $10 million.
What that tells you is that investors aren’t afraid of any of the copyright lawsuits that are pending or might be forthcoming, so now the major labels want a piece of that AI action too.
Personally, I think we’re in a super inflated AI bubble that’s going to pop soon. If that happens, investors world-wide will lose their shirts. Here’s hoping that includes some corporations who care more about the bottom line than they do about their artists and music.
