YouTube Developing Feature to Help Creators Imitate Drake’s Vocals

According to individuals familiar with the situation, YouTube is in the process of creating a tool that utilizes artificial intelligence to enable content creators to record audio using the voices of renowned musicians.

The video site has reached out to music companies for the rights to songs it could use to train this tool, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are confidential. The major record companies have not yet signed the contract, although discussions between the parties continue.

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Last month, YouTube released a new set of tools that leverage artificial intelligence, including a tool that creators can use to create backgrounds for their videos and another that allows automatic dubbing into other languages. At the time, the company had hoped to make the music tool available, but had not secured the rights.

The legal intersection of artificial intelligence and creative works involving the use of human names, images and identities is still a work in progress and has already led to lawsuits.

YouTube must choose a path to legal use of this new technology. It used to have a strained relationship with the music industry, but things have improved in recent years as the site increased its royalty payments. A company spokesperson declined to comment.

YouTube is owned by Alphabet Inc., a tech giant that has been developing artificial intelligence products for years. Alphabet is competing with many companies, including Microsoft Corp., to be the leader in what many see as the next peak of technology. Alphabet’s growing investment in artificial intelligence has prompted YouTube to come up with solutions and tools.

The music industry sees artificial intelligence as both a promising new technology and a major threat. The rise of piracy and user-generated content decimated the industry before paid streaming services like Spotify Technology SA emerged. This has made music companies wary of new technology.

But artists also realize that these designs can open new avenues for creative expression. Musicians and record companies want to control the ability of companies to use their copyrighted works to train models without permission or compensation. Record companies began looking more closely at AI after a song that sounded a lot like Drake — but wasn’t recorded by Drake — went viral online.

YouTube positions itself as a partner to help the industry discover this new technology.

Music companies have been receptive. They have agreed to work with YouTube on a new project that will generate ideas around artificial intelligence and music, and Warner Music Group Corp. CEO Robert Kyncl, who used to work at YouTube, spoke at the video site’s launch last month.

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