Spotify expands AI remix and covers venture with Merlin partnership

Throughout its second-quarter earnings name on Tuesday, Spotify once more teased the upcoming launch of a brand new product that can permit music followers to leverage AI to make covers and remixes of artists’ music, with the artists’ consent.

The corporate also announced that Merlin, a licensing accomplice for impartial labels and distributors, has now joined Common Music Group (UMG) on the brand new AI music effort. The deal brings greater than 30,000 labels from Merlin’s community to the product, which can permit fan-made covers and remixes by artists who conform to take part.

Spotify has positioned its AI music product as being considerably completely different from the extra controversial AI music startups which have been used to create absolutely synthetic songs. As a substitute, Spotify co-CEO Gustav Söderström informed buyers on Tuesday’s name that the corporate’s AI music product might be about “actual artists, not pretend artists.”

“We would like artists to be consenting [to add] their work into this catalog, so individuals can mess around with covers and remixes primarily based on their artwork,” added co-CEO Alex Norström. “We additionally clearly wish to give them credit score. And final however not least…we not solely have the consent and provides credit score, however we additionally drive the compensation for this. So, actually, we’re speaking concerning the first authorized option to partake on this AI tailwind that we see coming for interactive music,” he stated.

AI music has flooded streaming companies. Music streamer Deezer not too long ago famous that greater than 50% of every day observe uploads had been generated with AI, up from 10% in January 2025.

The corporate informed buyers {that a} analysis preview of the fan remix and covers product would initially be made accessible to a subset of customers. Spotify additionally famous that it could not require a full music catalog to get began. The corporate didn’t say when the preview would arrive.

The brand new device will launch as a paid add-on, creating a further income stream for artists, Spotify beforehand stated.

“Our remix and covers I believe is an extremely thrilling product once more as a result of there is no such thing as a one else that may actually do that,” Söderström stated. “Regular generative music will occur with or with out us. This product is not going to occur with out us, and it must exist in order that current artists can can take part on this.”