Prof Snyder's Music Biz News

Spotify Evolves from a Streaming Service into an AI Music-Creation Ecosystem.

"Spotify and Universal Music Group (UMG) have officially signed a licensing agreement that will allow “AI-enabled superfans” to produce AI covers and remixes of participating UMG songs." Up until now a song was created to listen to, dance to. An artist's official release has been the definitive version of a song. Listeners could interpret it differently, but the recording itself remained fixed. Soon, the labels and Spotify see all of those songs, maybe yours, as the 1st building block for Spotify users to take your song, and create 1000s of variations. "The sources confirm artists can opt out, but do not specify whether participation is opt-in or opt-out by default and neither Spotify nor UMG has clarified this." "It also isn't clear whether "participating" is determined artist by artist, catalog segment by catalog segment, or through some broader label-level agreement with individual exceptions. That mechanism is simply undisclosed." Does it matter to you if your song is sliced and diced and made into something you wouldn’t like, or even recognize? sources: https://snydersmusicbiznews.blogspot [https://snydersmusicbiznews.blogspot].... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa3NpVzhHYjdnRGtLREpiVFJqOHctcDRsRWRWd3xBQ3Jtc0tsTTdtUzRBZWk4RHZJUzhtbXhZeUhlQjdfTlJSTGx2dnpkOWJjUWJOV2VjYURKRURwZWxzZ1lLVHRHYnZZcENxc1VVOGgwTnk2eFo1TXdDbTFlSmJZQldnT3o5QUU5UC1IRm82T0FMRVlVQjJEc0ozVQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fsnydersmusicbiznews.blogspot.com%2F2026%2F06%2Fspotify-evolves-from-streaming-service.html&v=FLvUlpF5HOk]

Ozzy Osbourne and the Beginning of the Deadbot Music Era

"He will exist digitally as himself for as long as we have computers." The emerging world of “deadbots”—AI-powered digital recreations of deceased individuals that can speak, answer questions, and interact using a person’s voice, personality, and digital history. With reports that Sharon and Jack Osbourne are developing an interactive AI version of Ozzy Osbourne, the music industry may be entering an entirely new era. Unlike hologram concerts or archived recordings, these systems could engage in real conversations, recognize fans, and potentially continue an artist’s commercial legacy long after death. Could estates eventually license AI versions of artists for concerts, films, museums, theme parks, and virtual meet-and-greets? Could digital performers continue generating revenue indefinitely? And are living musicians ready to share the stage with deadbots? Sources: https://snydersmusicbiznews.blogspot [https://snydersmusicbiznews.blogspot].... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa0JHQllHRGJncXFhMHMyUmsyTzVVM20teTFMd3xBQ3Jtc0ttTFFCck5iMEJZV2tfZFFaMTJDdDhxVU4zbEN2YkpuQkJuSVpWa1MtNFRJbjE1djBycGdXNTR1N2VnXzBQdFhMeEVyVjI1Z1I5WmdtVVg1Tk9IWXlFSzZmcldMbEhJR2NOODVfN0x4dkxTcGkzYnNiWQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fsnydersmusicbiznews.blogspot.com%2F2026%2F06%2Fozzy-osbourne-and-beginning-of-deadbot.html&v=B9fxa6DE4Fg] 00:00 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9fxa6DE4Fg] Bring Out Your Deadbots 00:55 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9fxa6DE4Fg&t=55s] Ozzy Osbourne's AI Legacy 01:55 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9fxa6DE4Fg&t=115s] Who Owns a Digital Person? 02:15 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9fxa6DE4Fg&t=135s] The Digital Afterlife 03:20 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9fxa6DE4Fg&t=200s] The Business of the Dead 04:05 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9fxa6DE4Fg&t=245s] The AI Legacy Clause 05:35 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9fxa6DE4Fg&t=335s] We've Already Started Down This Road 05:50 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9fxa6DE4Fg&t=350s] The Backlash 06:40 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9fxa6DE4Fg&t=400s] The Future of Music 07:55 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9fxa6DE4Fg&t=475s] Living with Deadbots 08:35 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9fxa6DE4Fg&t=515s] Final Thoughts and Questions

The 988 Lifeline. More Than Most, Musicians Need to Know.

(May is Mental Health Awareness Month) It's not just Schumann, Monk, Cobain and Adele. It's the 1st Chair Violinist in your local orchestra, the flamenco guitarist in the Mexican restaurant, the roadie setting up the PA, the person on the rigs hanging lights, the piano major in college, the choir director at church, etc. Out of 100,000, 138 of them will commit suicide, The national average is 32 across all occupations (CDC report: Suicide Rates by Industry and Occupation. 2021). (This was before the increasing negative effects of AI on the music industry) Maybe if those 138 had just been made aware of the many free services available just for them... sources and links to support orgs: https://snydersmusicbiznews.blogspot.com/2026/05/the-988-lifeline-more-than-most.html [https://snydersmusicbiznews.blogspot.com/2026/05/the-988-lifeline-more-than-most.html]

Reanimated. Repackaged. Redeployed. By Agentic AI

George Romero's Night of the Living Dead is in the public domain. (That's why I can use a screen grab and not worry about copyright infringement.) But Hal Roach made the zombies green and so created a derivative that he could copyright and make $ licensing. BMG's announcement about Synch + brought to light how agentic AI is replacing music supervisors and song pluggers. "AI tools analyze BMG’s repertoire of over three million songs and 200,000 production music tracks to find precise matches for film, TV, and advertising briefs." Those who opt-in to allow BMG's agentic AI train on their music should be aware of the results. AI training creates a permanent capability to generate unlimited similar works....derivatives that BMG owns, with nonstop countless derivatives of the derivatives that only create $ for the label. Once your song's DNA is out there, there's no pulling it back. Maybe even if you decide to later opt-out. (Be sure to read the license you grant. Even better seek legal counsel). "While the “ethical” data training touted by some in the music industry may provide certain compensation in the short-term for the music on which these models are licensed, there are tangible long-term risks to production music libraries, composers and creators that should be considered." "It is not just about selling a song. It is about owning the source material, the derivatives, the licensing pathway, and the machine that helps produce the next wave of derivatives." Romero never made a dime on the derivatives of his creation. Will those who opt-in to feed AI? Sources: https://snydersmusicbiznews.blogspot [https://snydersmusicbiznews.blogspot].... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbXNFNkpNNi11MjdobnhNSktWb2JoRVFIZl8wUXxBQ3Jtc0tuNXBpbGhEazFzdzdBUlRzMWRoU0Z2alEyc09pUGFabmNxMVN1d1V2S2FFdUxqRm0zdUZfUEJqX0VhM0JYYVdFVXpnajg4enlDODFhZjExMXhtcC1ITk4wMnd3VFRRdUpoNC0xQVNra0twMk5jRG1NSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fsnydersmusicbiznews.blogspot.com%2F2026%2F05%2Freanimated-repackaged-redeployed-by.html&v=_VqTDM3ozk8]

Another Shark in the Food Chain? The Big 4

For the last 14 years, the Big 3, the holy trinity SONY, WMG, and UMG have dominated the music industry, devouring all of the other labels, and scooping up music catalogs. BMG, once a major label itself, though seemingly disappeared, has been kept alive by its parent company Bertlesmann, and it has sprung back to life joining with the old jazz label, Concord. Both have been on a feeding frenzy of music catalogs owning 4.3 million songs, enough to claim a spot with the Big 3 labels ....(BMG would prefer to be considered the king of indies). Though the headlines have broadcast the merger and the major shift with the Big 4, most haven't noticed that BMG is just a small part of the Bertelsmann empire, that with the merger owns Penguin Random House, the largest book publisher, 10,000 plays and musicals including Hamilton and Rogers and Hammerstein's works, and even classic movies like King Kong, Citizen Cane, and It's a Wonderful Life. Along with the titles, Bertelsmann has large divisions of marketing, streaming, and yes...AI. Regardless if it's one of the Big 4, or King of the Indies, it has moved up the food chain, and will undoubtedly have a major impact on the music industry. Sources: https://snydersmusicbiznews.blogspot.com/2026/05/another-shark-in-food-chain-big-4.html [https://snydersmusicbiznews.blogspot.com/2026/05/another-shark-in-food-chain-big-4.html]