In January last year, BandLab, the social music creation platform owned by Singapore-based BandLab Technologies, launched a service called ‘BandLab Licensing‘ that offers sync and licensing opportunities for film, TV, games, and advertising.
Now, the platform, which counts over 100 million creators, has expanded its music licensing service, introducing what it calls “a structure with clear guidelines” that allows artists, labels, and publishers to signal interest in licensing their music to train AI models.
Those using the platform can now indicate their interest in AI training licensing deals by marking songs as “Open to AI licensing.”
According to BandLab, this “landmark initiative” provides “a clear pathway for AI companies” to legally license music from rightsholders for training purposes.
The company explains that this selection registers rightsholders in a dedicated database, “creating a simple process for AI companies to seek authorization and legally license compositions and recordings from artists, labels, and publishers”.
BandLab says the move comes as artists are being subjected to “unauthorized scraping, exploitative loopholes, and vague blanket agreements.”
“At a time when AI exploitation is rampant, we need to aggressively and proactively take action to protect artist rights.”
BandLab says that the new service was “developed in consultation with leading industry stakeholders” and calls the initiative “essential to advancing ongoing industry efforts to drive innovation, while ensuring that AI companies can follow responsible licensing practices that protect, rather than destroy the value of human creativity”.
The company stresses that “every AI training licensing opportunity presented through BandLab Licensing requires explicit approval from the licensor”.
Meng Ru Kuok, CEO & Co-Founder of BandLab, said: “At BandLab, we believe the future of music must be built on artist-first innovation that respects both legacy and the next generation of creators.
“At a time when AI exploitation is rampant, we need to aggressively and proactively take action to protect artist rights.
“Creating pathways and marketplaces for permissible AI training is essential to ensure that AI and music can collaborate in a way that empowers artists, safeguards creativity, and drives real economic value for rights holders.”
In late 2023, BandLab’s CEO estimated that there will be over 1 billion music creators by 2030, “potentially even sooner.” In a Forbes interview in February 2023, Kuok said: “Our approach to AI is, I would say, a bit less conventional.”
BandLab’s new update comes amid music industry tensions with AI companies, with major labels suing platforms like Suno and Udio for allegedly training their systems using the majors’ recordings without permission – an accusation they pretty much admitted to in court filings last August.
Almost a month ago, Suno unveiled an upgraded version of its Song Editor tool, which enables users to upload work-in-progress tracks that can then be rearranged or remixed within Suno.
The update arrived as labels were reported to be pushing for a Content ID-style fingerprinting technology that would make it possible to track when and how a particular song is used by the AI platforms.
