Universal Music enters into strategic partnership with AI music startup KLAY

Universal Music Group has announced its latest partnership with an AI company. That company is KLAY Vision Inc., and UMG is working with it on “a pioneering commercial ethical foundational model for AI generated music that works in collaboration with the music industry and its creators,” the companies said in a statement on Monday (October 28).

What exactly KLAY is developing remains a mystery, but it has offered a few clues.

It says it’s building “a new Large Music Model (KLayMM) that will significantly advance state-of-the-art music AI,” and “a global ecosystem to host AI-driven experiences and content, including accurate attribution,” which “will not compete with artists’ catalogs in traditional music services.”

The company says it’s currently operating in stealth mode, but plans to launch a product in the coming months that will “revolutionize the way people think about music, presenting a new, intuitive music experience.”

“We are excited to partner with entrepreneurs like the team leading KLAY, to explore new opportunities and ethical solutions for artists and the wider music ecosystem, advancing generative AI technology in ways that are both respectful of copyright and have the potential to profoundly impact human creativity,” said Michael Nash, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer of Universal Music.

“UMG has always endeavored to lead the music industry in driving innovation, embracing new technologies and supporting entrepreneurship while protecting human artistry.”

“UMG has always endeavored to lead the music industry in driving innovation, embracing new technologies and supporting entrepreneurship while protecting human artistry.”

Michael Nash, Universal Music Group

Ary Attie, KLAY’s founder and CEO, said research “is critical to building the foundations for AI music, but the tech is only an empty vessel when it doesn’t engage with the culture it is meant to serve.”

He added: “KLAY’s obsession is not just to showcase its research innovation but to make it invisible and mission-critical to people’s daily lives. Only then can music AI become more than a short-lived gimmick. Our great artists have always embraced the newest technologies – we believe the next Beatles will play with KLAY.”

Besides Attie, KLAY’s leadership team includes Chief Content Officer Thomas Hesse, who once served as President of Global Digital Business at Sony BMG Music Entertainment, and was also involved in earlier tech-driven innovations in music such as the pay-per-song model (iTunes Music Store), music video distribution (VEVO), and on-demand music streaming.

Also on the KLAY team is Head of Engineering Matt Avent, former Tech Lead of the Speech, Audio, and Music Intelligence (SAMI) initiative at TikTok parent company ByteDance. KLAY also says it will soon be onboarding Björn Winckler as Head of Research. Winker comes to the company from Google’s AI lab DeepMind, where he led the development of Lyria and other AI models.

“We believe the next Beatles will play with KLAY.”

Ary Attie, KLAY

For UMG, the collaboration with KLAY is the latest in a series of partnerships it has inked with AI developers and “AI-adjacent” companies, both for backend functions and for music creation.

That includes a partnership last year with YouTube on an “AI incubator,” and a partnership with ProRata.ai, which says it has developed technology that will enable generative AI platforms to accurately attribute and share revenues on a per-use basis with content owners.

UMG has also struck what it calls “an expansive, industry-first strategic relationship concentrated on artificial intelligence” with social music creation platform BandLab, as well as a deal with generative AI startup Endel to create “Ai-powered, artist-driven functional music.”

Earlier this year, UMG partnered with AI tech company SoundLabs, which will give UMG artists access to SoundLabs’ MicDrop, an AI vocal plugin.

The first AI-driven release from that partnership was announced on Friday (October 25): a Spanish language version of Brenda Lee’s iconic holiday hit, Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree.

Also last week, Business Insider named UMG Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge among “the most powerful people in AI,” the only music or entertainment exec to make the list.

Business Insider cited UMG’s partnerships with AI companies, and also noted that Grainge “isn’t afraid to go to battle over unauthorized generative AI, suing Anthropic and AI music platforms like Suno and Udio around training data, as well as publicly fighting for AI protections in licensing contracts with distributors like TikTok and Meta.”Music Business Worldwide