AI Music News
Your independent source for AI music news and what each story means for music creators.
- 03 Nov
03 NovA Grammy-winning drummer and a Suno-funded tech group told the court AI training is fair use, as the RIAA filed against OpenAI
- On October 30, 2026, the RIAA, NMPA, ASCAP, BMI and 5 other music groups asked Judge Sidney Stein to reject OpenAI's fair use defense in the authors' and New York Times case.
- The same day, Grammy-winning drummer Trevor Lawrence Jr., Chamber of Progress and the Abundance Institute filed a brief backing OpenAI, using drum machines and AI stem separation as their examples.
- Chamber of Progress lists Suno among its corporate partners, and its brief says those partners get no vote or veto over its positions.
- 03 Nov
03 NovSpotify's spam filter may be hiding real user playlists from search, says the 11A founder tracking 50 of them
- Austin Staubus, founder of the independent cover-song label 11A, says follower growth slowed on all 50 Spotify user playlists his company tracks, and 22 of them reversed or lost followers.
- All 50 playlists were rated "Likely Bot-Free" by the analytics service Artist.Tools, according to Staubus.
- In an October 7, 2026 interview with YouTuber Andrew Southworth, Staubus said he'd seen an unnamed Spotify executive confirm in writing that the spam filter makes inferences about user playlists and what's inside them.
- 03 Nov
03 Nov10 of the 45 K-pop idol groups that debuted in 2026 are virtual, says critic Lim Hee-yun
- Music critic Lim Hee-yun counted 10 virtual groups among the 45 K-pop idol groups that debuted in Korea from January to September 2026, and found that about a quarter of new solo acts were virtual too.
- He presented the research, made with the Manila consultancy Crosscurrent, at the 2026 Seoul Music Forum in western Seoul on November 1.
- The count covers acts that are virtual in some significant form, so it mixes human performers behind avatars, like PLAVE, with other kinds of virtual acts.
- 03 Nov
03 NovWendy's says its emo album wasn't made with AI. A YouTuber found a three-armed drummer
- YouTuber Jacobra published a video on November 3, 2026 alleging that Wendy's emo album "Songs to Listen to in a Wendy's Parking Lot" was built on AI-generated instrumentals.
- Wendy's said at launch on September 23, 2026 that the 6-track EP was "made by real musicians, not generated by AI."
- Jacobra's main evidence is a "three-armed drummer", drum parts that hit a flam and a cymbal at the same moment, which no drummer with 2 hands can play.
- 02 Nov
02 NovJermaine Dupri wants artists to set the fee and pick the songs before Spotify's AI remix tool launches
- Jermaine Dupri told artists in an October 31, 2026 Instagram post to agree on a fee and choose which songs Spotify's planned AI remix tool can use.
- Dupri closed the post by telling Spotify to cut artists in on the tool or drop it.
- Spotify plans to launch the tool in the first quarter of 2027 at $4 to $5 a month on top of Premium, the Financial Times reported on October 30, 2026.
- 02 Nov
02 NovKid Rock defends the AI choir on his Eminem single 'Heal My Faith' to Bill Maher, points to the drum machine
- Kid Rock said on Real Time with Bill Maher on October 30, 2026 that the gospel choir on 'Heal My Faith', his song with Eminem, is AI.
- He said he sang the hook and harmonies himself, then prompted AI for a Southern gospel choir several times because his singers weren't around.
- The choir on '7 Sins' with Lil Wayne came from 3 human background singers stacking the part.
- 02 Nov
02 NovMusic Artists Coalition joins Cate Blanchett's OpenAI amicus brief, pointing to ASCAP and BMI as proof AI training can be licensed
- The Music Artists Coalition joined a 31-page amicus brief led by Cate Blanchett's Human Consent Foundation, filed on October 30, 2026 in the consolidated OpenAI copyright case in New York.
- The brief rebuts OpenAI and Microsoft's claim that licensing creative work for AI training costs too much and can't be valued.
- Its main proof is music's collective licensing system, including ASCAP's 20 million-plus works and BMI's 25 million-plus works.
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- 02 Nov
02 NovSound & Screen AI Music Video Awards 2026 winners: After Eve takes 2 of 7 awards, including Best AI Music Video for Hollow
- After Eve won 2 of the 7 Sound & Screen AI Music Video Awards on October 21, 2026, Best AI Music Video for Hollow and Best Technical Achievement for Blah Blah Blah.
- The other winners are Ravyn Mae for Best Storytelling, Dream Relic for Best Visual Style, Waking Up Christopher for Best Animation, Rayneedaye for Best Social Commentary and Fraize for Viewers' Choice.
- 35 nominations went to 24 videos from 21 acts, all of them played on Samori Coles's TikTok show Sound & Screen between September 9 and October 7, 2026.
- 30 Oct
30 OctBTS and Psy songs are on the 60,202-track list in UMG and Sony's second Suno lawsuit
- Psy's "Gangnam Style" (2012) and "Gentleman" (2013) are on the list of 60,202 recordings Universal Music Group and Sony Music say Suno used without permission, Korea JoongAng Daily reported on October 28, 2026.
- Two BTS collaborations are on the list too: "Bad Decisions" (2022) with Benny Blanco and Snoop Dogg, and "Waste It On Me" (2018) with Steve Aoki.
- will.i.am's "Gettin' Dumb" (2013), which features the girl group 2NE1, is also on the list.
- 30 Oct
30 OctGoogle's Gemini will help stage the 2026 MAMA Awards, and YouTube will stream the show worldwide
- Google announced a partnership with the 2026 MAMA Awards on October 30, 2026.
- The K-pop awards show will livestream on YouTube in Korea and other regions, subject to local broadcasting rights.
- Gemini will be used for pre-show promo planning, the main ceremony's opening video and key highlight stages.
- 30 Oct
30 OctLucian Grainge says streaming services should stop paying AI tracks the same as real artists
- Universal Music Group CEO Sir Lucian Grainge said on UMG's Q3 2026 earnings call on October 29 that pro-rata streaming payouts treat AI slop "the same as the greatest songs in the world."
- Grainge said unethically generated AI tracks should never be paid on the same basis as music with real demand, and asked why a music service would even host them.
- He said the structure of UMG's agreements with streaming services "has to change," as part of a new transformation phase that runs to the end of 2028.
- 30 Oct
30 OctWhat are the Manchester Principles? The UK music industry's 3 demands for AI
- The Manchester Principles came out of the Creative Industries AI Summit at Beyond The Music in MediaCity, Salford, on October 9, 2026.
- They set 5 general principles, from fair value to respect for creators.
- A working group added 3 AI objectives: licensing and consent, provenance and tracking, and attribution and equity.