SoundCloud’s CEO Eliah Seton has penned an open letter to its customers following suspicion that it was utilizing artists’ content material to coach AI.
Earlier this Could, SoundCloud customers raised issues in regards to the platform’s Phrases of Use, which seemingly instructed that their content material “could also be used to tell, prepare, develop or function enter to synthetic intelligence”. Nonetheless, there was a misunderstanding about what this truly meant.
The time period had been in place since February 2024, however had garnered new consideration on-line. Following the panic, SoundCloud affirmed that it has by no means used any artist content material to coach generative AI, and that the time period truly referred to its inside use of AI, together with personalised suggestions, content material organisation, fraud detection, and enhancements to content material identification.
Now, Seton has got down to additional reassure its person base, and most significantly, has additionally promised higher readability on AI from now and into the longer term. The model has additionally scrapped the unique time period from its ToU article which precipitated the alarm, and changed it with a a lot clearer assertion.
Seton’s letter reads, “SoundCloud has by no means used artist content material to coach AI fashions. Not for music creation. Not for big language fashions. Not for something that tries to imitate or change your work. Interval. We don’t construct generative AI instruments, and we don’t permit third events to scrape or use artist content material from SoundCloud to coach them both.
“In truth, we’ve already put protections in place like a ‘no AI’ tag that explicitly alerts content material on SoundCloud can’t be used for AI coaching. At SoundCloud, defending artist rights isn’t new for us and being artist-first isn’t a slogan. It’s core to who we’re and at all times will probably be. It’s in our DNA.”
The assertion later explains, “Our use of AI is targeted on discovery – serving to followers discover new music and serving to artists develop, beginning with their first followers. That’s core to our mission. Three years in the past we expanded our AI and machine studying capabilities by way of the acquisition of Musiio which considerably improved how we join creators with listeners, gasoline music discovery and assist rights holders establish what’s subsequent.”
Additional to this, Seton has taken duty for the language in SoundCloud’s ToU doc for being “too broad”, and has mentioned it “wasn’t clear sufficient”: “It created confusion, and that’s on us. That’s why we’re fixing it,” he says.
Because of this, SoundCloud’s ToU now reads, “We won’t use your content material to coach generative AI fashions that purpose to copy or synthesise your voice, music, or likeness with out your express consent, which should be affirmatively supplied by way of an opt-in mechanism.”
Seton emphasises that SoundCloud believes AI ought to assist and never change artists, and that you just’ll see additional modifications mirrored on-line inside its Phrases of Use within the coming weeks.
“Our method will at all times be guided by a single precept: artist-first. We’re going to maintain displaying up with transparency. We’re going to maintain listening. And we’re going to be sure to’re knowledgeable and concerned each step of the best way,” he concludes.
For extra data, you may learn the complete letter from Eliah Seton through the SoundCloud web site.
