YouTube Is Testing AI-Song Remix Feature With Select Creators

Date: November 13, 2024

YouTube is expanding its AI-powered tool portfolio by adding a new ‘Restyle a Track’ tool that generates short song remixes from user prompts.

YouTube is increasing its AI tools portfolio with some exciting new features that empower creators while compensating artists for their original works. A new introduction aligned with its AI efforts is the AI-powered ‘Restyle a Track’ tool that lets creators remix songs from its label partners.

AI prompts have gained immense power to create original content and recreate existing content in a much more engaging way. With the AI-powered song remix tool, YouTube aims to offer select creators an opportunity to expand their short snippet library while adequately compensating the original creators of the songs.

Last year, YouTube allowed creators in the US to generate AI songs via prompts using vocals like Charlie Puth, Charli XCX, Demi Lovato, John Legend, Sia, T-Pain, and Troye Sivan. The ‘Restyle a Track’ is an addition to this tool that focuses on remixing an existing track in any style or tone through simple descriptions. The songs available for remixing are taken from YouTube’s existing set of label partners, at least for the experiment period.

The creators who are selected for the trial run of the new AI feature can generate up to 30 seconds-long snippets that they can use in their YouTube shorts. Google declared that these snippets will include attribution to the original creator of the song through the Short and Shorts audio pivot page. 

As part of its content distinguishing efforts, these AI-generated remix snippets will carry appropriate labels to indicate that the track was altered using AI. The new feature seems to have been built on the Lyrica music generation model developed by Deepmind last year. The same model was used to power the Dream Track feature launched in November 2023.

“These experiments explore the potential of AI features to help artists and creators stretch their imaginations and augment their creative processes. In turn, fans will be able to connect to the creatives they love in new ways, bringing them closer together through interactive tools and experiences. All of this will help us iterate and enhance the technology, informing applications for the future,”

-YouTube regarding its AI expansion efforts.

YouTube has also partnered with the Universal Music Group (UMG) to create a structured monetary compensation for the original owners of content being used for AI remixes and other features. Taking YouTube as an early mover of AI-usage compensations, other players like JioSaavn are also planning legal mid-grounds to bring more artists into the AI landscape with adequate royalty and credits.