Bad news from YouTube for indie artists

Discussion in 'Ai for Music' started by webhead, Jun 17, 2026 at 7:57 AM.

  1. webhead

    webhead Audiosexual

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    "Plaintiffs are musicians who chose to leverage Google's groundbreaking YouTube platform to promote and monetize their music. They ask the Court to impose sweeping liability on Google for building another transformative tool, Lyria."

    In short, Google (Gemini) creates new songs based on uploaded music, and there are no legal obstacles to this. Now we need to think twice before uploading our music to YouTube.

    The musicians sued Google in March, accusing it of training Lyria 3 on copyrighted recordings pulled from YouTube without permission or payment.

    The plaintiffs include New York singer-songwriter Sam Kogon, Los Angeles composer Magnus Fiennes, and Atlanta producer Michael Mell, alongside members of Chicago band Directrix.

    Their 118-page complaint argued that Google holds “structural leverage” because it owns YouTube and runs Content ID, the platform’s rights-management system.

    Lyria 3 launched on February 18 inside Google’s Gemini app, letting users generate 30-second tracks with vocals and lyrics from text prompts or images.

    https://www.musicbusinessworldwide....arguing-they-licensed-their-music-to-youtube/
     
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  3. Crinklebumps

    Crinklebumps Audiosexual

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    Don't worry Soul musicians, you don't need to sell your soul to us any more, we'll just take it.
     
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  4. King Ariosto

    King Ariosto Ultrasonic

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    Anyway, they are constantly scamming creators with so-called "bugs" that don´t allow them to count the views correctly XD....... Also, still one more hickery.
     
  5. Balisani

    Balisani Platinum Record

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    It's one thing to know, or be warned that a storm is coming. It's another to be told it's a hurricane category 5.

    No matter: some people will stay put, refuse to vacate their homes, etc. This is part of human history. The human psyche is a sucker for man-made narratives (and you can read that from multiple view points).

    All over the world, we have examples of peoples whose houses are built at the foot of volcanoes (I would know; I lived on one such island); in earthquake prone country (I would know about that too, I felt them there, and I feel them here - weekly); or on reptile and saurian infested land (been there too, come to think of it: twice).

    The human psyche doesn't believe the narrative served unless it agrees with its own mind-crafted narrative (aka delusions).

    To the point: these lawsuits are all nice and sparkling shiny but the fact of the matter remains that each and every one of us uses synths, samplers and computers (including drum machines) that have driven countless fellow musicians out of work, be it string players, horn players, drummers and bass players, and let us not forget (it's fresh in my mind) studio owners and audio equipment makers.

    Yes, I'm as appalled and as disheartened by ai and Lyria this or Uno that as every single one of us. But some of us (younger ones, likely) will find ways to work with it, won't have any moral issues with it, and will make money off it - while the rest of us watch powerless as our livelihood is shrinking in breadth and scope, numbers and bottom line.

    The fact of the matter remains that we cannot fight mega corporations anymore than we could fight off the advent of the machines - in music. First thing I saw when I walked into my alma matter for my audition was the music synthesis lab. Proudly and shrewdly on display in the lobby, behind glass walls. The students behind those walls were "the new breed." They didn't wear white coats, but they sure had an air about them: we're going to lord over you.

    And you know what: some of them did, some of them didn't, just as some of us who could play our instrument and learn to program and use the technology lorded way over them, and some of us never did.

    The business side of Music was always at the forefront of technology, for obvious reasons (sound was digitized long before visuals), but also for the simple fact that musicians live in the jungle: no union, no guild, no degree, no professional board to administer and validate your license, no ethics committee to disbar or revoke your license, etc, etc. You can play three chords more or less in time? Your shoes or sneakers look cool? You have a basement and a drum kit, or a guitar and an amp? You can scream real loud into a mic? You're hired!

    Bottom line is musicians in general, and music in particular are most vulnerable to the Huns, Vikings, Vandals, or simply put: Barbarians of Silicon Valley, flush with their trillion dollar vaporware valuations.

    Whatchagonnado.
     
  6. Demloc

    Demloc Rock Star

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    Did you know what worked in the past to fight the advent of the machines in the hands of megacorporations? The fucking unions.

    Go around, go above, do whatever you like with the tech but at least form or be in a strong union. Create real community and solidarity. The music industry workforce is full of peasants that thinks that their sole individual ego is gonna bootstrap their asses to the fame. So we will keep getting hammered to oblivion until we are able to articulate some kind of colective resistence. Nobody is going to save themselves alone.
     
  7. L-D

    L-D Kapellmeister

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    You can't turn back the tide. Who cares anyway, except precious hobbyists, wannabes etc who mostly haven't got any music that's worth stealing anyway?

    Musicians, composers, have always stolen/copied others work, to learn or to profit from, simply because they can't do it themselves, well neither can AI.

    AI excels at number crunching, so weapons, vaccines, banking, robotics etc and so on will all reap rewards, you don't need complex calculations to make music, so i don't see it as a threat, as there are so many aesthetic decisions involved in writing a hit record and they all are concerned with listening, well, AI can't hear.

    And some times a lack of knowledge about the intricacies of composing music is preferable, as it gives you a freedom to explore by relying only on your listening, are you listening?
     
  8. PulseWave

    PulseWave Audiosexual

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  9. shinyzen

    shinyzen Audiosexual

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    Synths, samplers, drum machines etc require intention, a person making creative choices. AI music generators are designed to replace the creative work entirely. A snyth doesn't listen to thousands of musicians, soak it all up in a way only a machine can, and then generate a finished song in seconds. It still requires someone making artistic decisions. AI can eliminate the need for a composer/ producer / engineer / musician / writer / singer altogether while being trained on the works of those who were never asked or compensated. Replacing a string section with a synth is a creative choice. Typing a one sentence prompt into an AI generator is outsourcing the composition process itself, as well as all those who become involved in a songs creation. Not the same thing.

    Im not even anti AI (well, I am anti-slop). Im just tired of seeing corporations exploit every person and thing they possibly can just to save a few bucks.
     
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  10. Rolfy

    Rolfy Ultrasonic

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    bullshit man. you do constantly defending curtified and that suno employee running around here selling ai suno slop every chance. you always pump a messages and now, why are you here doing it agains trying convince everyone ai is the secret long lost answer to life as a music whatf? :no:
     
  11. PulseWave

    PulseWave Audiosexual

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    The cognitive abilities you outsource to AI or machines will eventually be lost or atrophy within your own brain and life. You actually become less intelligent; humans are creatures of convenience—we often choose the easy but unwise path, leaving the work to the machines. Your smart lawnmower flattens every hedgehog. Your smart home is an open door for burglars.

    Your AI for generating images or designing covers contributes to the erosion of your own skills. In the end, you probably won't even realize where this is all heading—or you’ll buy a sledgehammer and smash the circuit board of the next robot you see...!
     
  12. mr.personality

    mr.personality Platinum Record

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    AI is literally an alien invasive species and like in many a sci-fi story, there are always those human cowards who will bend the knee while the rest resist in the face of extermination
     
  13. PulseWave

    PulseWave Audiosexual

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    Welcome to the resistance!
    ban_ai_generated_content_by_sonicgal390_dfnkub2-pre.jpg
     
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  14. Balisani

    Balisani Platinum Record

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    I agree with you 1,000%: a synth doesn't play itself, and requires someone making artistic decisions. Well said.

    However, that was not my point - at all. I'm confounded that what I wrote could be so misunderstood. I apologize for not writing more clearly that it was computer based technology that's "driven countless fellow musicians out of work, be it string players, horn players, drummers and bass players, and let us not forget (...) studio owners and audio equipment makers (e.g., Tree Audio).
     
  15. PulseWave

    PulseWave Audiosexual

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    But the World Wide Web has created many new jobs and opened up new markets! If your colleagues have lost their jobs, they can join the ranks of the unemployed worldwide; perhaps then they will see the actual problem—the real root causes—more clearly. They will likely come to recognize corporate profit motives and profit maximization as the real issue. You are looking at the world too superficially.

    Technological progress always creates jobs just as it destroys them—something to ponder...!
    All in all, technological progress has generated more capital and more luxury, and reduced hunger!
     
  16. Mynock

    Mynock Audiosexual

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    Unions don’t exist to topple trillionaires. They exist to secure fair contracts, defend basic rights, and give workers a collective voice. Without them, every worker stands alone against corporate power... and that’s when exploitation wins!
     
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  17. PulseWave

    PulseWave Audiosexual

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    You don't need the music industry; simply start your own local labels, create your own performance opportunities and radio stations, and team up with others—that way, you’ll be strong and able to achieve a lot at the local level in your own communities. If you keep sitting in isolation in front of your devices, hoping for change, you’re lost!
     
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  18. shinyzen

    shinyzen Audiosexual

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    I legitimately cannot understand what point you are trying to make. I always "pump a messages and now"??

    I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything, let alone "the secret long lost answer to life as a music whatf".

    I'm also not constantly doing anything. I defended curtified the other day because of the vitriol he was receiving when trying to share a cool plugin he was working on.

    Ah gotcha. I feel like its not as black and white either way. While DAWS and drum machines etc may have driven some musicians out of work, at the same time, what was a smaller industry exploded. For every major studio that shut down, 50 smaller studios opened up. Ive been in well over 100 studios in the LA area over the last 20ish years. Some just somebody's spare room, but plenty that are "real" studios, with employees, and bands / artists booked. Other jobs created for lost jobs as well. How many beat makers, sample pack creators (still musicians), vocal producers, programmers, session musicians etc, etc, etc that 20-30 years ago would not have had the opportunity?

    Either way, I agree that technology is a major disruptor, and impacts the individual, and society at large.

    I can't tell if you are being sarcastic or not lol. don't take offense please!
     
  19. ArticStorm

    ArticStorm Moderator Staff Member

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    i just wish there was a general decision!

    Libgen and others provided access to books, nonfiction, fiction and papers, major publisher lawsuited against that, shutting it down.
    Facebook downloading entire Libgen and used it to train models on it (im sure others did aswell, without asking), suddenly this is all okay, but libgen in between so hard to keep online, bcs it gets blocked, hosting becomes impossible.

    Soundcloud providing access to the uploads of users, without asking the users ... (the uploads always belonged to the users, but quickly they did change their TOS, without anyone agreeing)

    LANDR tried something similar, same goes for DistroKid (so far i know)

    Reddit was used for models by everyone.

    and the list goes on with companies scraping for data, without asking.

    Now Annas Archive downloaded almost whole Spotify, i think there was a lawsuit from Spotify -- but im sure if Spotify was scraped my audio LLM, nobody would give a ****!

    I hate how double sworded this all is -- is it for non profit, its not okay, comes any big company, eg facebook, google, openai, etc, its suddenly okay and copyright doesnt matter anymore. :deep_facepalm::suicide:
     
  20. xorome

    xorome Audiosexual

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    No problem. To compensate, add announcements to your music uploads.

    "Like and subscribe, tell me in the comments how to multiply 2 and 3, get on my Patreon, check out my GoFundMe and my sister's OnlyFans, ring the bell, I appreciate every single one of you, if you like what you're seeing, have a look at my udemy course, I really love this mattress, click the link in the description, full disclosure, I get a wee kickback, VPN VPN VPN, channel memberships 50% off this week, but first... a word from our sponsor. Oh would you look at the time, guess music will have to wait until... next video. Seeeeeee ya."
     
  21. Kate Middleton

    Kate Middleton Platinum Record

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    i dont understand. where DID a.i come from, and its becoming more and more of it with every year? someone educate me. who or what people invented the ai stuff
     
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