Warner Music Signs Its First Virtual Singer, Reverses Stance on AI Music


Spotify has reached a milestone strategic licensing agreement with Universal Music Group, allowing Premium users to legally use generative AI technology to cover songs, marking the official regulation of AI music creation by streaming platforms and establishing new rules for the fan ecosystem.
Tencent and Tsinghua University jointly launched the AI music model SongGeneration 2, achieving significant breakthroughs in technical architecture and music quality, significantly surpassing existing open-source models and even rivaling top commercial products, effectively solving the 'plastic feel' problem in AI music.
MiniMax launches Music 2.5, aiming to break through the bottlenecks of control and authenticity in AI music. The new version supports 14 paragraph-level tags for control, such as prelude and bridge, allowing creators to precisely arrange structures and achieve professional-level composition.
A study by Deezer and Ipsos showed that 97% of participants could not tell the difference between AI-created and human-made music. However, the testing method raises questions: participants were considered unable to distinguish if they got just one wrong. Although the results have attracted attention, they may overestimate the persuasiveness of AI music.
After Udio reached a settlement with Universal Music, users are no longer able to download AI music works, causing frustration among creators. The platform suddenly removed the download feature, making it impossible for users to save the works. According to the terms of service, users have given up their right to file a class-action lawsuit, making it difficult to seek legal redress.