MBW Views is an exclusive editorial series from some of the biggest names in the music industry who have something to say.
Below is a statement from Tracy Chan, former SoundCloud, Twitch, and Spotify executive and current CEO. Splash is an Australian-born AI music company.
Chang wrote the letter in response to news a few weeks ago that Sony Music Group (SMG) was in the process of sending letters to 700 AI developers and music streaming services declaring that they would “opt out” of using their content to train AI.
The letter, obtained by MBW, also stated that AI developers who want to use SMG's content must get explicit permission, and that some of these companies may already be infringing Sony Music's copyrights.
While Sony did not disclose the names of the 700 companies that sent the letter, the name of at least one has been revealed: AI music company Splash.
Backed by investors including Amazon Alexa Fund, Khosla Ventures, Bitkraft Ventures and King River Capital, Splash develops AI-powered tools and games for music creation and performance.
The company raised $20 million in Series A funding in 2021.
Powered by an AI model trained on what the startup describes as its “homegrown, self-created music library,” Splash's Roblox game “Splash” boasts over 400 million total visitors, averaging 3 million plays and 2.8 million performances per month.
Lacey Chan joined the company as CEO in March from SoundCloud, where she oversaw the platform's music content, licensing and information, and creator strategy.
In the letter below, written in response to Sony Music's letter warning AI companies not to use its content to train their AI models, Chang stressed that Splash had received Sony Music's letter but that “we only use artist content with permission and will not use SMG content to train our models without permission.”
Elsewhere in the letter, Chang outlines his and Splash's views on the ethics of AI in the music industry today.
You can read his letter in full below.
To Jeff and Michael
I am writing to inform you that I have received your letter dated 23/05/2024.
For background, Splash is a pioneer in artificial intelligence-driven music generation.
We created early voice and instrument models back in 2017 and today we develop and own the largest music game on Roblox. Our games have been visited over 425 million times and generate nearly 3 million musical performances every month from a primarily Gen Z audience. We develop our games and music products according to a set of strong core principles that put people first.
we believe:
- Artists and songwriters should be compensated for their work, and it is unethical for generative AI companies to make money off of artists and songwriters without compensation or attribution.
- It is immoral for DSPs that pay artists through a pro rata/royalty pool model to strip artists of money by distributing unauthorized AI music.
- People matter. Human ideas matter. Human creativity is important and valuable.
These beliefs have guided our work with AI from the beginning, even though the US, EU, Australia and other regions have yet to establish laws regulating AI and training sets: We only use music that we own or have copyright licenses to train our proprietary AI models.
We employ full-time musicians on staff and work with a network of over 100 artists and producers, paying them to develop our music datasets. We only use artist content with permission and never use SMG content to train our models without permission.
While their content isn't used to train our AI system, we had the opportunity to collaborate with BBNo$ and Alaina Castillo, both of whom are with Sony Publishing, who did a Roblox meet-and-greet with our game.
Sony and Splash share the belief that music and artists have value, and are inviting SMG, artists, rights holders and the industry to partner to demonstrate that by partnering with artists and songwriters, we can build a valuable business together in an ethical way.
Sincerely,
Tracy Chan
Splash CEOGlobal Music Business
