Spotify and Universal Music Group (UMG) have signed a new licensing deal that will allow fans to reimagine songs with AI.
Announced Thursday (May 21) at Spotify’s Investor Day presentation, the “landmark” agreement is set to introduce a new paid add-on tool for Spotify Premium users that allows them to generate AI covers and remixes of licensed UMG tracks from participating artists.
A statement further detailed that the feature will “open up additional revenue streams and new ways to drive discovery”, and described the new tool as an “additional source of income for artists and songwriters, on top of what they already earn on Spotify”. It is unclear when it is set to launch.
Spotify’s co-CEO, Alex Norström, explained that the new feature was “grounded in consent, credit, and compensation” for participating artists and songwriters.
“Through each technological transformation, we have worked together with Sir Lucian [Grainge, CEO of UMG] and his team to evolve the music ecosystem into a richer, more beneficial experience for fans and a more rewarding outcome for artists and songwriters,” he said.
Spotify will let Premium subscribers create AI covers and remixes in a new partnership with Universal Music Group
The feature will be available on songs created by participating UMG artists pic.twitter.com/Y94L9aIENE
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) May 22, 2026
As noted by Billboard, generative AI platforms such as Udio and Klay have also been exploring ways to allow users to customise pre-existing, licensed songs.
It appears at odds with Spotify’s crackdown on AI last year, after they removed 75 million tracks and targeted impersonators flooding the streaming platform. In a statement titled ‘Spotify Strengthens AI Protections For Artists, Songwriters, And Producers’, they said they would push against music intended to “confuse or deceive listeners, push ‘slop’ into the ecosystem, and interfere with authentic artists working to build their careers.”
This followed a report claiming that AI-generated songs were being uploaded to dead musicians’ Spotify profiles without permission.
In March, a singer-songwriter pleaded guilty to defrauding music streamers out of millions in royalties after flooding the services with thousands of AI-generated songs and automated bots.
The UK government, meanwhile, has announced it will ditch “deeply damaging” plans to allow AI firms to use copyrighted work without permission, although many in the industry argue much more needs to be done.
Elsewhere, Deezer revealed earlier this month that almost half of the music now uploaded to its platform is AI-generated. The French music streaming service has said there are now roughly 75,000 new tracks made with AI technology being added to the service every day, which amounts to 44 per cent of the total number.
The 44 per cent figure represents a huge jump from the 28 per cent declared last September, which itself was up from 10 per cent last January.
It follows on from a Deezer study last November, which found that 97 per cent of people “can’t tell the difference” between real and AI music. Alongside polling company Ipsos, they asked around 9,000 people from eight countries to listen to three tracks to determine which was fully AI-generated.
According to the report, 97 per cent of those respondents “failed”, with over half (52 per cent) saying they felt “uncomfortable” to not know the difference. 71 per cent also said that they were shocked at the results.