SoundCloud — a music sharing platform once so beloved by artists it spawned sub-genres named after it — updated its terms of service (TOS), forcing artists who use SoundCloud to let their music train AI.
It looks like the change went into effect during SoundCloud’s last TOS policy update in February 2024, and it’s just coming to light now.
The updated terms read that “in the absence of a separate agreement that states otherwise,” creators who upload content to the site “explicitly agree that your Content may be used to inform, train, develop or serve as input to artificial intelligence or machine intelligence technologies or services as part of and for providing the services.”
In short, the language in the update suggests that musicians, artists, and other creators who use SoundCloud for distribution can expect their uploaded work to be funneled into AI models as training data.
It’s a sweeping provision. And how SoundCloud is actually applying it isn’t exactly clear. But since early 2024, SoundCloud has integrated several generative AI tools and services into its platform that largely center on creating or producing new music. {read}