YouTube has reportedly been flashing its cash to the “big three” major labels in hopes of rolling out AI music licensing deals with them.

This isn’t YouTube’s first venture into AI though, as it formerly launched AI tool Dream Track last year. The feature allowed users to create music using AI voice emulations of famous artists, but just 10 signed up for the test phase. Those involved included John Legend, Charlie Puth, and Charli XCX.

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It seems YouTube’s next AI move looks to be a little more robust. The platform, which is owned by Google, has been in talks with Sony, Warner and Universal to try to convince more artists to allow their music to be used in training AI software, according to several sources who have been in contact with The Financial Times.

The FT reports that these proposals are being met with scepticism: “The industry is wrestling with this. Technically the companies have the copyrights, but we have to think through how to play it,” an executive ‘at a large music company’ tells the outlet. “We don’t want to be seen as a Luddite.”

YouTube comments, “We’re not looking to expand Dream Track but are in conversations with labels about other experiments.” Sources say this could involve YouTube’s Shorts platform, but talks are ongoing. If a deal was to go ahead, the sources say the licence would apply to a select group of artists, and it would be up to the labels to encourage those artists to participate in new AI projects.

In other AI news, TuneCore has newly rolled out its very own mastering service which utilises AI technology to produce “professional-quality tracks” for artists on a budget.

TuneCore Mastering’s AI was not trained on any copyrighted material, in line with its “four pillars for responsible AI engagement”: consent, control, compensation, and transparency. It’s available for all TuneCore artists on a pay-per-use model for $5 per track.

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