Spotify Expands AI Music Capabilities with Merlin Partnership

Spotify has made significant strides in its AI music project, announcing a partnership with Merlin, a licensing partner for independent labels and distributors. This collaboration brings more than 30,000 labels from Merlin's network to Spotify's AI music effort, allowing fan-made covers and remixes by artists who agree to participate.

Spotify's AI Music Product: A Distinct Approach

Spotify's co-CEOs, Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström, emphasized the importance of artist consent in the new product. They stated that the company wants artists to be willing participants, giving them credit and compensation for their work. This approach sets Spotify's AI music product apart from more controversial AI music startups that create fully artificial songs.

"We want artists to be consenting [to add] their work into this catalog, so people can play around with covers and remixes based on their art," said co-CEO Alex Norström. "We also obviously want to give them credit. And last but not least…we not only have the consent and give credit, but we also drive the compensation for this."

AI Music on the Rise

The prevalence of AI music on streaming services is on the rise. Music streamer Deezer recently noted that more than 50% of daily track uploads were generated with AI, up from 10% in January 2025. Spotify's new product aims to capitalize on this trend while ensuring that artists are fairly compensated.

• The new tool will launch as a paid add-on, creating an additional revenue stream for artists.
• A research preview of the fan remix and covers product will initially be made available to a subset of users.
• Spotify did not provide a specific release date for the preview.

A New Era for Interactive Music

Spotify's AI music project has the potential to revolutionize the music industry, enabling fans to engage with music in new and innovative ways. As the company continues to develop this product, it will be exciting to see how artists and fans respond to this new form of interactive music.