Spotify is aiming to launch an AI-powered service in early 2027 that would let listeners create their own remixes and covers of songs, as the streaming company negotiates licensing deals and tries to persuade artists to embrace the technology.
The company is targeting a first-quarter launch, with a potential unveiling around the Grammy Awards in February, FT reported. Spotify is considering charging subscribers an additional $4 to $5 a month for the service, one of those people said.
The product would allow Spotify's paying subscribers to use artificial intelligence to create their own versions of popular songs, for example, transforming a folk song into a dance track or making one artist appear to cover another's music.
Spotify is still negotiating licensing agreements with Sony Music and Warner Music that would allow it to offer the feature. The company has already struck deals with Universal Music Group, the independent label licensing group Merlin and French music company Believe.
The launch is a significant test of whether the music industry can turn generative AI into a new source of revenue, even as the technology has drawn resistance from some artists.
Spotify and Universal, the world's largest record company, have been meeting with individual artists to persuade them to make their music available for the service, according to people familiar with the discussions.
The service would differ from AI music generators such as Suno, which allow users to create entirely new songs from text prompts. Spotify's product would instead let fans manipulate existing songs by artists who have agreed to participate.
Under the proposed plan, royalty money from fan-created remixes would flow back to the original artists. Spotify is also developing a system for remixes to appear in playlists, with plays counting toward the original songs in Spotify's music charts, said people familiar with the plans.
