Spotify plans paid AI remix and cover tool for early 2027 launch

Launch plans

Spotify is preparing an AI service that would let paying subscribers make their own remixes and covers of existing songs, according to people familiar with the plans quoted by the Financial Times. The company is aiming for the first quarter of 2027, with a possible unveiling around the Grammy Awards in February. Spotify declined to comment on the project. Unlike tools that generate new songs from text prompts, the product would work on tracks that already exist, such as turning a folk song into a dance track or having one artist's song performed in another artist's voice. The timing and pricing have not been finalised and could still change, those people cautioned.

Price and rollout

Spotify is considering an extra $4 to $5 a month on top of Premium subscriptions, one of those people said. The feature is expected to be a paid add-on for Premium subscribers. The product was first announced in May, and in August co-chief executive Gustav Söderström told investors that the service would launch when it was ready. In a September appearance, Söderström argued that artists from the 1980s and 1990s could benefit, because fan-made versions would raise their share of streaming revenue.

Licensing and artist consent

Spotify has already reached deals with Universal Music Group, the independent label group Merlin and the French company Believe, according to the Financial Times. Kobalt, a music publisher, is also listed among agreements struck since May. Talks with Sony Music and Warner Music are still ongoing, and neither has announced a deal with Spotify. Artists can choose whether to take part, even when their label has signed. Spotify and Universal are meeting artists one by one, and one person with knowledge of the matter said that winning over contemporary stars has proved harder than securing some established older artists. On the second-quarter earnings call, Söderström said the company could move ahead without every label on board, as reported by Music Business Worldwide.

Olivia Rodrigo, who is signed to Universal, told the Hollywood Reporter in an interview this October that she firmly opposes using AI in her music.

“I would never. Absolutely no. Hard line on that.”

Royalties and playlists

The planned model would pay royalties from fan-made versions to the original artists. Plays of a remix would count toward the original song in Spotify's charts, and the company is also studying ways to put remixes into playlists. The Financial Times describes the launch as a significant test of whether the music industry can turn generative AI into a new source of revenue. Other companies are moving in similar directions, with Universal granting ElevenLabs access to its catalogue for a platform where fans remix tracks. Deezer, meanwhile, offers a remix feature built without AI. Songs can only be included when their artists have explicitly agreed to take part.