Spotify expands AI remix and covers project with Merlin partnership
TechCrunch Sarah Perez
Spotify's AI covers and remix tool just got bigger. Merlin brings 30,000+ indie labels aboard, joining Universal, but there's still no release date.
Based on reporting by TechCrunch, Sarah Perez — read the original for the full story.
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Spotify used its second-quarter earnings call on Tuesday to remind everyone that its long-teased AI remix and covers product is still coming, and to sweeten the pot with a new partner. Merlin, which licenses music for independent labels and distributors, is joining Universal Music Group on the effort, pulling in more than 30,000 labels from its network. That's a meaningful expansion of the pool of artists who could eventually let fans remix or cover their songs using AI, assuming those artists opt in.
Spotify's pitch here is less about the technology and more about the framing. Co-CEO Gustav Söderström told investors the product is built around "real artists, not fake artists," a clear jab at the wave of AI music tools that spit out fully synthetic songs with no human behind them. Co-CEO Alex Norström leaned into the same idea, describing a system where artists consent to having their work included, get credit when fans build on it, and actually get paid. Norström called it "the first legal way to partake in this AI tailwind" coming for interactive music.
The backdrop makes that pitch land differently. Deezer recently reported that more than half of the tracks uploaded to its service daily are now AI-generated, up from just 10% in January 2025. That's a fast climb, and it's the kind of number that makes rights holders nervous about losing control over how their catalogs get used. Spotify seems to be betting that offering a sanctioned, compensated version of AI remixing will look a lot more appealing than watching it happen anyway, unlicensed, elsewhere.
Practically, Spotify said a research preview will roll out to a subset of users first, and artists won't need to hand over a full catalog to participate. No launch date was given, which fits the pattern of a company that's been talking about this feature for a while without committing to a timeline. When it does arrive, it's set to be a paid add-on, giving artists another potential revenue stream on top of streaming royalties.
Söderström framed the whole thing as something only Spotify can pull off, given its position with labels and distributors. "Normal generative music will happen with or without us," he said. "This product will not happen without us, and it needs to exist so that existing artists can participate in this." Whether that confidence is earned depends entirely on how many artists actually say yes when the opt-in prompt shows up.
My take — AI-written commentary, not fact-checked reporting
Calling this "the first legal way" into AI remixing is a nice line, but it's also Spotify doing what platforms do best: turning a threat into a toll booth. Fans have been remixing music without permission since forever, and AI just made it faster and scarier for labels, so of course the fix on offer is a paid add-on that routes a cut back to Spotify. The Merlin deal matters because it's indie labels, not just the majors, deciding that a managed version of this chaos beats no version at all. Consent and compensation sound great in a press release; the real test is how many artists actually opt in once the novelty wears off.”}dr}| adjusting format... actually done.}]} $/ ok.} 完.} */}
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