“AI ought to help artists, not exchange them”
SoundCloud CEO Eliah Seton has responded to backlash over the platform’s stance on AI as outlined in its Phrases Of Use.
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Earlier this month, Futurism reported that SoundCloud “quietly” up to date its phrases and situations in February 2024 that might contain customers “explicitly agreeing” through the use of the platform to having their content material used to coach AI.
The coverage learn: “You explicitly agree that your Content material could also be used to tell, practice, develop, or function enter to synthetic intelligence applied sciences as a part of and for offering the providers.”
In response to the controversy on social media, Seton has clarified “how content material might work together with AI applied sciences inside SoundCloud’s personal platform”.
Soundcloud has determined to tarnish their legacy by…. utilizing your music to coach AI pic.twitter.com/3NuRrumih9
— Weaver Beats (@weaverbeats) May 10, 2025
“SoundCloud has by no means used artist content material to coach AI fashions. Not for music creation. Not for giant language fashions. Not for something that tries to imitate or exchange your work,” he stated.
“We don’t construct generative AI instruments, and we don’t enable third events to scrape or use artist content material from SoundCloud to coach them both.”
“Our place is straightforward: AI ought to help artists, not exchange them,” he added. “Any use of those instruments on SoundCloud will proceed to replicate that.”
Seton went on to elucidate the updates to the Phrases Of Use final February had been meant to make clear how “we might use AI internally” to enhance SoundCloud for its customers, together with “powering smarter suggestions, search, playlisting, content material tagging, and instruments that assist forestall fraud”.
SoundCloud has now modified its Phrases Of Use, establishing that it’ll solely use AI-training on content material uploaded to the platform with customers’ consent.
The brand new coverage reads: “We won’t use Your Content material to coach generative AI fashions that goal to duplicate or synthesize your voice, music, or likeness with out your express consent, which have to be affirmatively supplied by an opt-in mechanism.”