Concerns are rising among artists regarding the potential use of their music by AI systems, prompting some to reconsider their presence on SoundCloud.
Recently, the music streaming platform updated its terms of service, permitting AI to utilize uploaded audio for training purposes. The terms state, “You explicitly agree that your Content may be used to inform, train, develop or serve as input to artificial intelligence or machine intelligence technologies or services.”
In response to recent reports, SoundCloud clarified that it currently does not use user-uploaded audio for AI training but did not rule out future possibilities.
SoundCloud’s SVP of communications emphasized, “SoundCloud has never used artist content to train AI models, nor do we develop AI tools or allow third parties to scrape or use SoundCloud content from our platform for AI training purposes.” Furthermore, the platform has implemented safeguards, including a ‘no AI tag’ to prevent unauthorized use.
Major labels will remain exempt from any AI training, and other users will have the option to opt out if such uses arise in the future. “The [terms of service] explicitly prohibits the use of licensed content for training AI models, including generative AI,” explained the SVP. “No such use has taken place to date, and SoundCloud will introduce robust internal permission controls to manage any potential future use.”
At this point, content uploaded to SoundCloud is not being used to train AI systems, but the platform appears to be preparing for a future where such practices may occur.
Topics
Artificial Intelligence
Music
