Common Music CEO Slams “Retailers of Rubbish” Whereas Defending Artist Centric Streaming Funds

As synthetic intelligence instruments go mainstream, Common Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge says latest enterprise offers with main music streaming platforms will assist guarantee AI applications profit his main label artists financially and creatively.

“What in the present day’s outcomes don’t but display, however future ones will, is how our management on points resembling AI streaming economics will profit not solely UMG, however your entire music ecosystem,” Grainge informed analysts after the music main launched its third quarter monetary outcomes.

And Grainge hit out at critics of his label’s artist centric mannequin for royalty funds because it appears to reward music product on streaming platforms that followers have interaction with. “These teams who’ve expressed a priority about artist centric are these whose enterprise mannequin is predicated on being retailers of rubbish,” he insisted.

“Sorry, I can’t actually consider one other phrase for content material that nobody actually desires to take heed to. So if you happen to’re committing fraud or flooding the platform with content material that has completely no engagement with followers, doesn’t assist churn, doesn’t merchandise nice music {and professional} artists, then I suppose you’re not going to be in favor of artist centric and it’s a chance for us to name them out,” he added.

UMG, which has artists on its roster like Taylor Swift, Drake and Olivia Rodrigo, noticed total revenues rise 10 p.c to 2.75 billion euros ($2.9 billion) as streaming and subscription revenues rose 11 p.c year-over-year to 1.41 billion Euros ($1.49 billion). That follows latest worth hikes at Spotify, Apple, Amazon and YouTube.

Adjusted earnings earlier than curiosity, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), a key metric for UMG, rose 5.1 p.c to 581 million Euros ($681 million).

Throughout an analyst name, Grainge talked up a latest cope with YouTube to launch an AI Music Incubator that embraces AI-related musical instruments. “The historic collaboration underscores our perception that one of the simplest ways to make sure accountable AI growth is thru market-led options. Particularly, we agreed that YouTube will embrace a set of AI ideas that empower human creativity and embrace artist pursuits,” he informed analysts.

UMG has proven a willingness to make use of AI applied sciences, even because the business faces a problem from AI-generated music content material and rising competitors from indie music labels to make sure compensation and copyright safety for artists represented UMG and different main music labels.

UMG additionally struck an settlement with Deezer, to reinvent how the indie music platform calculates streaming royalties for the most important label’s artist roster.

“This new mannequin honors actual artists by higher rewarding them for music that pulls and engages followers and by defending in opposition to unhealthy actors and depriving artists of their compensation based mostly by itself index information evaluation,” Grainge argued.

And UMG signed a cope with sound wellness firm Endel to allow its roster of artists to make use of proprietary AI know-how to create temper music soundscapes for day by day actions like sleep and rest. 

Michael Nash, govt vp and chief digital officer, informed analysts correct enforcement of present copyright regulation and guarding in opposition to improper exploitation of an artist’s title and likeness — for instance as AI tech permits voice cloning — should be priorities as regulators and governments look to determine guardrails round rising AI software program and applied sciences.