If you’ve ever wanted to sing like a megastar, a new YouTube feature may allow you to do just that, as the company is working on an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that allows creators to record audio in the voices of famous musicians. .
Details are a bit sparse at this point as no potential artists or labels have been announced. But YouTube has reportedly approached Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group to obtain the rights to the instrument training songs.
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This was first reported by Bloomberg. The move comes shortly after YouTube (and other music streaming services) banned a viral AI-generated song featuring a realistic-sounding version of Drake and The Weeknd.
Of course, there are murky waters around the use of artificial intelligence in music, especially when it comes to imitating a real person. AI is a powerful tool, but its capabilities also pose a big challenge from a copyright and licensing perspective.
However, YouTube appears to be taking the lead in overcoming these challenges by leveraging new technologies. Just a few months ago, the company developed “the first-ever set of AI music principles” to allow creative expression while protecting artists on its platform. AI-generated mimicry has now been added as a real feature.
Also: How artificial intelligence helped get my music on all the major streaming services.
This development of events, of course, raises several questions. First of all, what restrictions will be placed on the content created? Will the creators be able to sing whatever they want? Secondly, how will monetization be carried out? Any revenue generated from an AI video imitating someone’s voice will of course be passed on to the artist, but what would that split look like? Will an artist have recourse if someone creates content where they sing a legal song but with a message that the artist personally disagrees with?
YouTube is no stranger to artificial intelligence integration: last month it introduced new AI video creation tools for creators that allow automatic dubbing into other languages and auto-generated backgrounds, as well as creating AI-powered video reviews for viewers. This new feature, similar to the artist’s sound, was apparently supposed to be part of this rollout, but rights issues have slowed the process down.