SoundCloud Reassures Artists on AI Usage, Promises Opt-Out for Training Data

SoundCloud Reassures Artists on AI Usage, Promises Opt-Out for Training Data

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SoundCloud is addressing anxieties within its creator community regarding the potential use of their music for training artificial intelligence (AI) models. Following a February 2024 terms of service update that included language allowing for AI-related applications, SoundCloud has clarified its position, emphasizing that it has *not* used artist-generated content to train any AI systems to date.

The platform states its current AI initiatives are primarily focused on enhancing user experience through personalized music recommendations and combating fraudulent activity. To protect artists’ work, SoundCloud has introduced measures such as a ‘no AI’ tag, designed to deter unauthorized scraping of content for AI training datasets.

SoundCloud emphasizes its commitment to ethical AI development, promising that future AI applications will be designed to empower and support human artists. Crucially, before any artist content is used for generative AI training purposes, SoundCloud intends to implement clear opt-out mechanisms, giving creators control over whether their work contributes to AI model development.