Austrian collecting society AKM backs Swiss AI startup Nowon. Here’s why music rights just changed.

Key Highlights:

• Austrian collecting society AKM has taken an equity stake in Swiss AI startup Nowon
• Nowon’s music recognition technology claims up to five times the accuracy of fingerprinting solutions like Shazam
• The partnership will develop methods to detect AI-generated music and trace training data origins

AKM, Austria’s collecting society for composers and music publishers, has invested in Nowon and secured a board seat. The Nowon announcement describes the deal as a “shared long-term commitment” to advancing music recognition and copyright remuneration.

“We are not only investing in technology, but in the future of music rights management,” said AKM director general Gernot Graninger in the AKM press release.

The investment signals collecting societies are moving beyond licensing debates to build detection infrastructure. Nowon’s technology targets live music documentation, where setlist reporting remains inconsistent. The startup claims recognition rates up to five times higher than conventional fingerprinting.

AI detection is the other priority. Deezer detects tens of thousands of AI tracks daily. WIPO research links AI-generated songs to streaming farm fraud. AKM and Nowon will collaborate on methods to identify synthetic music and trace its training data origins.

This follows GEMA’s licensing model for generative AI and initiatives like Fairly Trained certification. Provenance standards from C2PA and watermarking tools like SynthID offer complementary approaches. AKM’s investment shows collecting societies are now building their own detection capabilities rather than waiting for platform solutions.”