Warner Music Group has acquired the AI detection company Sureel, the companies announced on Wednesday.
WMG and Sureel didn’t disclose any financial details of the acquisition, though the companies confirmed Sureel will continue to operate as a standalone company. WMG is hoping the deal will help the music company and its artists and songwriters better track how their works are being used to train AI models, and when their works appear in AI tracks.
In a press release, Sureel said that it creates “AI DNA” for every work” it’s fed, “breaking it into component parts and tracing how AI models use those elements.”
“Bringing Sureel into WMG strengthens our capability for protection, control and monetization and ensures that the creative community remains in control of its intellectual property, name, image, likeness, and voice,” WMG CEO Robert Kyncl said in a statement. “We look forward to working with Tamay and his team to advance all of their incredible work.”
WMG has been particularly active in the AI space, as the company notably settled its lawsuits and carved out deals with AI music generation platforms Suno and Udio last year. WMG is currently the only major record label to have settled with Suno.
The ability to trace how your copyrights are being used in AI training is becoming an increasingly crucial tool as AI continues to proliferate across the entertainment industry from music to film and TV. It’s unclear at press time how effective Sureel actually is, as THR hasn’t used the technology. But the company touts itself as a more sophisticated method than merely detecting if a work is present in training data, rather breaking down on a more granular level how the works are being used.
“Rightsholders deserve to know how AI interacts with their work, and to share fairly in the value it creates,” Dr. Tamay Aykut, Sureel’s founder and CEO said in a statement. “Sureel was built to make that possible, and with WMG’s backing, we can deliver on our mission at scale, building a more transparent and fair future and driving value growth for the whole music and entertainment ecosystem.”
Leave a Reply