Universal partners with Nvidia on AI music creation, discovery

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• Universal Music and Nvidia team up to enhance AI in music discovery and creation.
• AI will boost music search by emotion and cultural resonance in new collaboration.
• Universal and Nvidia to launch an incubator for AI-powered artist tools.

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Universal Music Group NV is partnering with Nvidia Corp. to boost the role of artificial intelligence in music discovery and creation, as record labels seek to capitalize on the fast-growing technology while managing the risks AI poses to their catalogs.

The collaboration between the world’s largest record label and the leading AI chipmaker is the first of its kind, Universal said.

The partnership will focus on using AI to improve the way fans discover music and engage with artists beyond current search and personalization tools, Universal said in a statement Tuesday. The companies plan to build upon Nvidia’s Music Flamingo, an audio-language model designed to understand songs in a layered, human-like way that allows listeners to explore music beyond traditional tags or genres.

The tools will help fans find music not just by style or tempo, but by “emotional narrative and cultural resonance,” according to the companies. This gives established artists new ways to connect with their listeners and boosts opportunities for emerging artists to be discovered by people who are the most likely to become dedicated fans.

“We’re entering an era where a music catalog can be explored like an intelligent universe — conversational, contextual, and genuinely interactive,” said Richard Kerris, general manager for media and entertainment at Nvidia.

Netherlands-based Universal and California’s Nvidia will also establish an incubator where artists can co-design and test new AI-powered tools, which will serve as “a direct antidote to generic ‘AI slop’ outputs,” according to the statement.

The music industry has been racing to harness the latest developments in AI and protect its valuable catalogs, gradually shifting from a hostile approach to a more cooperative stance.

The three biggest record labels — Universal, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group Corp. — sued AI music startups Suno Inc. and Udio in 2024 for copyright infringement. But last year, Universal and Warner settled with Udio and struck deals to collaborate on new music creation and streaming platforms. Warner also settled its lawsuit with Suno and agreed to a partnership for creating new music.

All three labels agreed last year to license their works to a music startup called Klay, Bloomberg reported, which is building a streaming service allowing users to remake songs using AI tools.