AI- generated music has made headlines of recent and Google is stepping further into that space by opening up access to its text-to-music AI known as MusicLM.
It comes as AI songs have generated massive debate over issues of copyright. In the last few weeks alone, Spotify reportedly removed thousands of songs over concerns people were using them to game the system.
Apple Music also pulled down an AI-generated song featuring the voices of Drake and The Weeknd’s following a complaint from Universal Music Group, the label that presents the real-life versions of the two artists.
The following day, YouTube, Amazon, SoundCloud, Tidal, Deezer and TiokTok did the same to the song known as “Heart on my sleeve,” which had gone viral and streamed more than 600 000 times.
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MusicLM to the people
Google announced the launch of MusicLM in January. It published a research paper on the AI and demonstrated its ability to generate sounds, musical ideas, and even entire tracks on demand.
The tool is now available for the public to try through their AI Test Kitchen. However, according to Matt Mullen, users have to signup for access through the Test Kitchen, where there is a waitlist at the moment.
Google did not have plans to allow public access when it unveiled the tool. The company had concerns over issues of copyright and ethics. But the shift in AI acceptance over the last few months forced Google to reconsider and allow public access.
In a blog post, Google said it worked with musician Dan Deacon to gather early feedback on the use of MusicLM to enhance creativity.
“We’re working with musicians like Dan Deacon and hosting workshops to see how this technology can transform the creative process.” the company wrote.
Google posted a video on YouTube documenting a workshop done testing the AI tool with researchers and musicians.
In the video, artist Simon Doury suggests that MusicLM could be a tool used to accompany musicians.
“If you don’t play the piano or guitar, you start prompting and you get an accompaniment,” he says. “For example, if you’re a drummer and you want something to play with, you can just type and you have something.”
Google acts on copright
According to TechCrunch’s Kyle Wiggers, users are able to specify instruments, mood, vibe and emotion when crafting a track using the MusicLM AI model.
Choosing specifics like “soulful jazz for a dinner party” or “two nylon string guitars playing in flamenco style” will generate two tracks, which the user can choose their favorite.
In a bid to avoid copyright infringement, Google says the public version of MusicLM does not allow users to create songs that imitate the sound of existing songs or musicians unlike other generative AI tools available.
This could end up saving Google a lot of money by avoiding copyright issues as well as present users from creating fake “unreleased songs,” from popular artists and selling them for thousands of dollars.
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