YouTube has developed an artificial intelligence tool that allows content creators to record audio using the voices of renowned musicians, the video streaming giant has been in talks with music companies to obtain rights for songs that the new AI tool can use for training.
However, no agreements have been reached yet, as discussions between the two parties are ongoing.
In the past month, YouTube introduced a set of new AI tools, including one that enables content creators to create background music for their videos and another that facilitates automatic dubbing into different languages.
YouTube had hoped to incorporate the new voice replication tool into advertisements but struggled to secure the necessary rights in a timely manner.
The legal relationship between artificial intelligence and creative works, which may involve using the names, images, or likenesses of individuals, is still evolving, leading to various legal disputes, YouTube must find a legal path for this new technology’s use.
It remains unclear whether the discussions regarding YouTube’s AI voice replication tool will help mitigate potential copyright issues raised by music companies, particularly as AI-generated musical compositions imitating famous musicians gain traction.
This issue gained significant importance earlier this year when an AI-generated song by Drake went viral on the internet.
While some musicians have embraced AI-generated music, many others have called for regulatory guidelines to protect their voices from being replicated without permission.
AI-generated music currently resides in a legal gray area due to the difficulty of determining ownership rights for songs that mimic the unique sound of an artist, even if they do not directly contain protected audio recordings or lyrics.
The extent to which AI voice replication tools infringe upon copyright remains uncertain at this time, but this has not dampened interest in developing the capabilities of AI-generated music.
Meta, Google, and Stability AI have all released several AI tools for creating AI-generated music this year.
YouTube positions itself as a partner in assisting with the use of generative AI technology, having developed numerous generative AI tools over the past year.
However, it is currently unclear whether YouTube can legally provide content creators with AI voice replication tools without triggering numerous copyright-related lawsuits.
