SoundCloud has clarified that the company does not use artist content to train AI models, following backlash stemming from an update to its terms of service that, in theory, allows it to do so.
Making digital rounds among artists and highlighted by tech news outlet Futurism last week, the clause, which was added to the platform’s terms in February 2024, leaves legal room for SoundCloud to use music posted to its site to train music-making AI. It reads, in part, as follows:
“In the absence of a separate agreement that states otherwise, you [the user] explicitly agree that your content may be used to inform, train, develop, or serve as input to artificial intelligence or machine intelligence technologies or services as part of and for providing the services.”
Without a clear indication of just how SoundCloud uses AI, the Futurism article drew parallels to the company’s new “assistive AI” products, which were announced one month prior to the change in terms, and “allow artists to upload songs created with assistive AI tools directly to SoundCloud,” according to the company.
In the fallout, Ed Newton-Rex, a composer and the CEO of AI music rights nonprofit Fairly Trained, wrote on X, “My question to SoundCloud is: does this include generative AI models? If so, I’ll remove my music and would encourage others to do the same.”
In a statement published Friday, May 9, SoundCloud said the answer, for now, is no.
The Berlin-headquartered company wrote that it has “never used artist content to train AI models, nor do we develop AI tools or allow third parties to scrape or use SoundCloud content from our platform for AI training purposes.”
The statement went on to explain that the February 2024 terms update was meant to “clarify how content may interact with AI technologies within SoundCloud’s own platform, for things like recommendations and fraud detection. SoundCloud’s current terms of service do not explicitly rule out training generative AI models in the future.
Read SoundCloud’s full statement, shared with Futurism, here.
Update: https://t.co/ncvNwlyPfS
— Ed Newton-Rex (@ednewtonrex) May 10, 2025
Featured image courtesy: Unsplash.com.
