Photo Credit: Omar Lopez-Rincon
UMG today disclosed the high-profile tie-up as well as its aggressive focus on AI patents. Regarding the aggressive descriptor, the label has already filed 15 applications with the self-described IP asset management firm Liquidax.
These applications, two of which have been approved, concern technology at the intersection of music and collaboration, AI threat protection, multimedia content, health, rights management, and administration, the companies indicated.
That is, of course, a rather broad umbrella. Scratching the surface of the actual systems, then, one of the applications dedicates 41 all-encompassing pages to describing a means of pumping out AI-generated music derivative works.
The patent lists as its lone applicant and inventor Liquidax founder Daniel Drolet, whos doubling as a partner in a newly created entity called Music IP Holdings, Inc. The latter will license the AI patents and other technologies developed with UMG into the global marketplace, the relevant parties spelled out.
(A patent side note: One reintroduced 2025 application, submitted by a UMG AI exec as opposed to Drolet, describes tech capable of generating tonally compatible and synchronized neural beats for existing tracks. These additional beats may be used to encourage a desired mental state, Endel-partnered UMG wrote.)
And to state the obvious, itll definitely be interesting to see how Music IP Holdings factors into the increasingly chaotic music AI battlefield. While we cant tell exactly what the future holds here, one Liquidax exec claims to have led initiatives generating over $1 billion in licensing revenue.
At Universal Music Group, weighed in strategic-technology SVP Chris Horton, we are taking a very active role in fostering innovation. Building on our historical and contemporary track record of cutting-edge R&D, scientific advancements and successful patent applications, we are looking forward to significantly advancing our internal efforts, with a dedicated focus on AI technology.
And were very pleased to be entering into this collaboration with Liquidax, with whom we intend to develop a strong strategic relationship that will amplify our ability to develop IP and take it to market, accelerating the evolution of the music ecosystem, concluded the 25-year UMG vet.
In remarks of his own, Drolet touched on ambitious plans to coordinate with UMG to shape the future of music.
Needless to say, Universal Music is hardly alone in strategizing around and responding to artificial intelligence. Closing on an adjacent note, Spotify just recently fired off about a dozen job listings for AI and machine-learning positions, several pertaining to (or at least overlapping with) the Spotify for Artists policy team.
Said team works on topics including how Spotifys $10 billion+ annual royalty pool is allocated, reducing incentives for bad actors, and preparing our platform for future trends and technologies in music, like AI, the DSP emphasized amid Velvet Sundowns well-documented streaming ascent.
