Universal Music Group and NVIDIA’s new partnership aims to be a “direct antidote to generic AI slop”Universal Music Group (UMG) has announced a collaboration with chipmaker giant NVIDIA to pioneer “responsible AI” for music discovery, creation, and fan engagement.
The partnership, which leverages NVIDIA’s Music Flamingo model and UMG’s catalogue of millions of recordings, seeks to “enrich and enhance the music experience of the billions of music consumers worldwide”.
The companies plan to develop AI tools that take music discovery, engagement, and consumption beyond traditional search and personalisation. They will also explore ways to use AI to protect artists’ work and ensure proper attribution of music-based content.

READ MORE: “There’ll be some swings and misses across the industry”: Universal Audio CEO is bullish on his firm’s new LUNA AI features – but says AI in music is broadly “overhyped”

One key focus of the partnership is a new artist incubator, designed to put musicians, songwriters, and producers at the heart of AI music creation. UMG and NVIDIA say the incubator will co-develop tools that empower artists rather than replace them, and calls this a “direct antidote to generic, ‘AI slop’ outputs”.
On the discovery front, the partnership will expand NVIDIA’s Music Flamingo model to transform how fans find and engage with music. Unlike typical algorithms that rely on basic metadata or genre tags, Music Flamingo can analyse full-length tracks, capturing harmony, structure, timbre, lyrics, and even cultural context.
The model uses advanced reasoning to interpret chord progressions, emotional arcs, and other subtle musical details, helping listeners explore music in a more meaningful and personal way.
The collab will also employ both companies’ research capabilities, including the use of UMG’s world-class studio operations such as Abbey Road Studios in London and Capitol Studios in Los Angeles. In addition, UMG will use NVIDIA AI infrastructure in the development of responsibly trained AI-driven business and creative processes.
UMG CEO Sir Lucian Grainge has previously warned against low-quality, mass-produced AI music flooding streaming platforms, calling it “platform pollution”. The new partnership aims to “set new standards for innovation within the industry, while protecting and respecting copyright and human creativity.”
“We’re entering an era where a music catalogue can be explored like an intelligent universe – conversational, contextual, and genuinely interactive”, says NVIDIA’s VP/GM of Media Richard Kerris. “By extending NVIDIA’s Music Flamingo with UMG’s unmatched catalogue and creative ecosystem, we’re going to change how fans discover, understand, and engage with music on a global scale. And we’ll do it the right way: responsibly, with safeguards that protect artists’ work, ensure attribution, and respect copyright.”
The deal follows a series of AI-focused partnerships from Universal, including collaborations with Splice and Udio.
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CES 2026: Everything revealed, from Nvidia’s debuts to AMD’s new chips to Razer’s AI oddities CES 2026 is in full swing in Las Vegas, with the show floor open to the public after a packed couple of days occupied by press conferences from the likes of Nvidia, Sony, and AMD and previews from Sunday’s Unveiled event.  As has been the case for the past two years at CES, AI is at the forefront of […]

Napster is no longer a music streaming service, which is shutting down. It becomes an #AI #Music "platform for creating and experiencing music in new ways." #MusicBusiness

LANDR acquires Reason Studios: “This isn’t about changing Reason, it’s about giving it room to grow”Reason Studios has been acquired by AI-forward music production company, LANDR. The partnership is set to “redefine the future of music creation”, with sights set on enhancing Reason Studio’s classic DAW and Rack with new tools and AI-powered features.
Montreal-based LANDR explains that the acquisition will see Reason entering a new creative dawn. “Our vision is to make Reason and the Reason Rack indispensable tools for every producer, regardless of what DAW they use,” Pascal Pilon, CEO of LANDR, explains.

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“Wherever music is made, Reason will be there, with its amazing instruments, effects, and iconic analogue workflow – enhanced by LANDR’s value-rich creator tools,” the CEO continues.
Of course, merely uttering “AI” is sometimes enough to concern creatives. To quell any worries, the announcement repeatedly emphasises the notion of “preserving” Reason’s current “identity”, while “expanding” the possibilities of the DAW.
As a result, the acquisition wont instantly introduce major changes. Instead, there will be a “gradual” introduction of AI-powered features and tools to “make the creative process more seamless, inspiring and accessible”.
“This isn’t about changing Reason, it’s about giving it room to grow,” Pilon emphasises. “We’re preserving each brand’s identity and core market while unlocking new possibilities for creators everywhere.”
Verdane, the company that previously owned the majority stake in Reason Studios, has also shared a few words in light of LANDR’s acquisition. “Working with the Reason Studios team since 2017 has been an honour for all of us at Verdane,” says Director Charlotte Möller. “We’re glad that the business has found the perfect partner in LANDR for its next stage of growth.”
The acquisition will also see a new Artist Council forming, which will consist of well-known producers and users of Reason. The Council will help determine the future of Reason, putting the needs and concerns of creatives at the forefront.
“Like a lot of producers, Reason was my first experience making music on a computer, and I’ve been a fan ever since,” Daniel Rowland, VP of Strategy at LANDR, notes. “Reason has always been shaped by its community, and this council makes that official, giving power users a direct voice in shaping the tools they rely on, benefitting all of us.”
Learn more at LANDR.
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From stablecoins to incumbents, VCs map crypto value in 2025Venture partners such as Pantera, Hash3 and Variant look back on a year of regulatory shifts and uneven markets, outlining crypto’s biggest winners and losers in 2025.

Happy New Year 2026 🎄
I have read the recent post on Hypebot and I can't say I agree with all written and I don't know the person, but there are surely some interesting points regarding #AI which majors would like to implement for keeping their stable profits. Frankly I can't believe they care about unknown creators/artists and their income, even the authorship model is completely reversed and there are not many real good sales channels for our music. IT investors and AI companies started the #MusicIndustry revolution, it is good for #MusicBusiness and it is not. Be totally fair - ask yourself - who are the global biggest rightsholders nowadays?
Same as investors they want their money return ✌ It is quite understandable...However...

Creators and listeners, I want to honestly wish all of us in the community the breakthrough with our music (and multimedia products) showing up the real value of made creations! 🎶
#PublMe #Community #Network 💫🌌

Jacob Varghese of Noctil Shares His 2026 Music PredictionsHypebot's Future Predictions series is back. Join us as we ask the music industry's expert analysts what they think might unfold in the world of music in 2026.
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After bitter vote, Aave founder pitches a bigger future for DeFi lending giantFollowing a rejected governance vote, Stani Kulechov laid out a plan to expand beyond DeFi lending and reshape how tokenholders capture value.

Dear community members!

❗ Due to recent announcement from #ReadyPlayerMe (the partner for avatars creation), that their services will become unavailable starting January 31, 2026, we have to inform that we will discontinue this feature very soon.

However, please stay tuned as more new features will come next.

🌌💫 #TheMusicverse #PublMe

Sonica is a New Music Platform Putting Artists Back in ControlNo hidden fees, no commissions, no algorithms, no AI — Sonica is the latest startup offering artists ethics-aligned streaming with 100% ownership of revenues and rights.
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Great, but #PublMe https://publme.com platform is since 2021 ✌

Suno has acquired Songkick: What it means for ArtistsControversial AI music platform Suno acquired Songkick as part of its new deal with Warner Music Group. But why would an AI music creation tool want to own a struggling concert listing service?
The post Suno has acquired Songkick: What it means for Artists appeared first on Hypebot.

Soyuz are the great mics, sound and look both good #musicproduction

Because it's only GENERATIVE thing #AI for #Production and #Music not a "magic button". Need to consider both: rights and quality

“Music producers are rejecting AI”: Study reveals over 80% of producers are against AI-generated songsThere have been few topics at the forefront of producers’ minds in 2025 quite like artificial intelligence. Hell, it’s been the conversation of the entire world this year, pretty much. But for all its hype, how much are musicians and producers actually leaning on AI in their work?
According to a new global study conducted by sample clearing platform Tracklib, on the whole, music producers are “rejecting” AI, with only 6% using generative tools regularly in their work.

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The study – dubbed Music Producers & AI 2025 – examines “how producers think about, adopt, and pay for AI tools in their creative workflow”, and saw responses from 1,734 producers, representing the global producer market of “20 million” people, according to Tracklib.
The results show a pervading distrust or dislike of AI in music production, with only 17% actively in favour of the technology, 45% neutral and a massive 38% actively against it.
While AI music production tools are now widespread, the study notes that adoption of these tools remains somewhat limited; of the 32% of producers who say they use AI tools, most of these are with assistive use cases such as stem separation, EQ and mastering. 
Only 6% of producers admit to using fully generative tools like prompt-based song creation, and a massive 82% are against full song generation using text prompts.
Despite the increasing prevalence of AI artists on streaming platforms like Spotify – take the Velvet Sundown, for example, or Xania Monet – 78% of those surveyed said fully AI-generated music should not be allowed on streaming platforms. But if such tracks remain listed, 81% want these platforms to clearly label music that has been produced partially or wholly using AI. And 83% support mandatory disclosure of AI use by producers themselves.
“Producers clearly separate assistive AI from generative AI,” says Andreaas Liffgarden, Head of Catalog & Chairman of Tracklib. “Stem splitting, EQ, and workflow accelerators are widely accepted. But when it comes to full-song generation, the attitudes shift sharply towards scepticism, concerns about artistry and copyright.”
Despite the results of the study showing a lean towards AI scepticism, AI in music continues to boom. Earlier this week, it was revealed that Suno, one of the biggest AI song generation platforms, had secured $250 million in its latest funding round, meaning it’s now valued at 2.45 billion.
Read the full global study on AI usage in music production at Tracklib.
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