YouTube last year added a feature for select creators in the US that lets them create AI-generated songs using vocals from artists like Charlie Puth, Charli XCX, Demi Lovato, John Legend, Sia, T-Pain, Troy Youth Sivan and others. The company is now adding a feature that lets selected creators remix songs with AI by describing how they want to change the style of the music.
The video streaming platform will provide creatives with songs selected for the new remix experiment through its label partners.
If a creator is part of the test group, they can select a song in question, select the “Restyle Track” option, and describe how they want to change the track’s style. This will generate a 30-second snippet that creators can use in their short videos.
Google noted on a support page that excerpts of the remixed sounds are assigned to the original song via the Shorts and Short Audio Pivot pages. They also provide appropriate labels to indicate that the track has been altered by AI.
YouTube released its Dream Track feature, based on the Lyrica music generation model developed by Deepmind, in November 2023. At the time, the platform also released a tool that allowed users to create tracks simply by humming a melody.
“These experiments explore the potential of AI capabilities to help expand artists and creators’ imaginations and improve their creative process. Instead, fans can connect with the creators they love in new ways, bringing them closer to them through interactive tools and experiences. “All of this helps us develop and improve the technology that will shape our future applications,” YouTube said at the time.
To avoid the ire of the music industry, YouTube announced last August that it would compensate artists and rights holders for the use of their work in its AI features before the release of these tools. To that end, the company announced it would partner with Universal Music Group (UMG) to put in place a payment structure for rights holders.
YouTube isn’t the only company working to allow users to remix tracks. Former JioSaavn executive Gaurav Sharma is developing an app called “Hook” that allows users to legally remix songs and create short videos.
