Spotify, UMG announce AI-powered covers and remix feature

The feature, announced on 21 May, will be introduced as a paid add-on for Spotify Premium subscribers and is intended to create an additional source of income for artists and songwriters alongside existing royalty payments. While the tool itself will be available only to paying subscribers, all Spotify users will be able to listen to tracks created through the feature.

The agreements between Spotify and UMG cover both recorded music and music publishing rights. However, participation will be voluntary, with the AI tool limited to music from artists and songwriters who have opted in.

The companies did not disclose details about the generative AI technology that will support the feature and did not confirm a launch date or pricing structure.

“Solving hard problems for music is what Spotify does, and fan-made covers and remixes are next,” Spotify Co-CEO Alex Norström said. “What we’re building is grounded in consent, credit, and compensation for the artists and songwriters that take part.

“Through each technological transformation, we have worked together with Sir Lucian 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.”

UMG chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge described the project as an effort to strengthen artist and fan relationships while creating new revenue opportunities.

“The most valuable innovations in the music business always bring artists and fans closer together,” Grainge said.

“That principle is at the heart of this pioneering AI-enabled superfan initiative, which is designed to support human artistry, deepen fan relationships, and create additional revenue opportunities for artists and songwriters.

“Building on our long track record of leading the industry through technology changes, and collaborating with Alex, Gustav, Daniel and the team at Spotify, this initiative is firmly artist-centric, rooted in responsible AI, and will drive growth for the entire ecosystem.”

The companies said the agreement establishes what they described as a system allowing artists and songwriters to participate directly in revenue generated from licensed AI-created covers and remixes on Spotify.

The announcement follows comments made by Spotify co-CEO Gustav Söderström during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call in February, when he stated that the technology for AI-generated remixes and covers was already available but that rights agreements had delayed implementation.

At the time, Söderström described AI-generated derivatives of existing music as “an untapped opportunity for artists to make money off of their existing IP.”

The new agreement indicates that a rights framework has now been established with UMG, the world’s largest music rights company.

The deal is also the latest in a series of AI-related agreements involving UMG. In October 2025, the company resolved a copyright dispute with AI music platform Udio and subsequently agreed to collaborate on a licensed AI music creation service. That arrangement supported a controlled environment model in which AI-generated music would remain within the platform where it was created.

The latest initiative expands on the wider partnership between Spotify and UMG, which was strengthened through a multi-year licensing agreement signed in January 2025 covering recorded music and publishing rights.

The launch also aligns with Spotify’s broader efforts to introduce premium features beyond its standard subscription offering. Earlier reports suggested the company was exploring an upgraded subscription tier with additional fan-focused features, including AI-based remix tools.

Spotify reported 761 million monthly active users at the end of the first quarter of 2026, including 293 million paying subscribers across 184 markets.