Last week, SoundCloud was accused of updating its terms of use to allow content uploaded to the site to be used as training data for artificial intelligence (AI). Now, the streaming platform has updated its AI policy in its terms of use, and SoundCloud CEO Eliah Seton has shared an open letter addressing the scenario, clarifying the site’s current use of AI, and promising that artist content will remain unaffected nor used to train generative AI.
“AI should support artists, not replace them,” writes Seton in his open letter. “With the landscape changing rapidly, if there is an opportunity to use generative AI for the benefit of our human artists, we may make this opportunity available to our human artists with their explicit consent, via an opt-in mechanism. We don’t know what we don’t know, and we have a responsibility to give our human artists the opportunities, choices and control to advance their creative journeys. We’re making a formal commitment that any use of AI on SoundCloud will be based on consent, transparency, and artist control.”
In his letter, Seton adds that SoundCloud updated its terms of use in February 2024 to clarify how it uses AI to improve the site’s recommendations, search, playlisting, content tagging, and tools that help prevent fraud. “Our use of AI is focused on discovery—helping fans find new music and helping artists grow, starting with their first fans,” writes Seton. “More broadly, we use AI to identify emerging talent, personalize the platform experience, and support real-time customer service, all designed to support human artists and engage real fans.”
SoundCloud has implemented a suite of generative AI products over the past year and a half, each designed to assist with music production and distribution. In 2022, the company laid off roughly 20% of its workforce due to claims of recent economic changes. AI companies have been on the receiving end of several lawsuits this decade, too, for infringing on copyrighted works in the training of their AI models.
