The Swedish Performing Rights Society (STIM) announced a smart pairing in arts & tech. They signed the world’s first licensing agreement with an artificial intelligence (AI) company. STIM’s licensing plans are a new precedent for music creators’ compensation in the wake of generative technology. The deal involves Songfox, a Stockholm-based startup focused on enabling fans and creators to legally produce AI-generated compositions.
What’s Happening & Why This Matters
STIM, which represents 100,000 artists, struck this landmark deal to address one of the music industry’s biggest concerns: transparency and compensation in AI-generated music. The agreement leverages a third-party attribution technology, Sureel, to trace AI-created outputs back to the original human-created works. This allows artists to receive real-time, auditable revenues whenever their music is used to train or create AI content.
Simon Gozzi, STIM’s Head of Business Development and Industry Insight, explained that AI companies will compensate artists through a blend of licensing fees, revenue sharing, and upfront payments. This occurs when works are used for AI model training. This approach ensures that as AI services gain popularity, the financial returns to rights holders increase proportionally.
“The more demand an AI service creates, the larger the returns for rights holders,” Gozzi told Euronews Next. “By showing attribution and ring-fencing of AI revenues in practice, we aim to give Europe a blueprint that others can adopt—making this a global standard over time.”
The agreement is a “stress-test” for what STIM hopes will become a global, market-based model. The framework secures fair compensation and establishes equal competition terms between human artists and AI-driven platforms.
AI’s Threat to Creators
Recent studies warn that AI could erode nearly 25% of music creators’ revenue within the next three years. AI music generation tools like Suno AI and OpenAI’s ChatGPT-powered platforms are gaining popularity. Many artists fear losing income and control over their intellectual property.
While the EU AI Act introduces rules for AI transparency, advocacy groups like the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA) and the European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers (GESAC) argue that the law does not go far enough. Artists currently must opt out to prevent their work from being used for AI training. However, many lack a practical way to do so.
The legislative gaps also fail to address compensation for works already scraped by AI systems. As a result, lawsuits are emerging across Europe. Germany’s Society for Musical Performing and Mechanical Reproduction Rights (GEMA) has filed suits against OpenAI and Suno AI, while Universal Music Group pursues legal action against Anthropic.
A Blueprint for Change
STIM’s framework focuses on future uses, not retroactive compensation. While Gozzi declined to confirm other ongoing negotiations, he emphasised that the licensing model is designed to be collective. It benefits entire groups of artists rather than individual startups or platforms.
Advocates hope a proactive strategy inspires regulators, such as the European Commission, to require AI companies to negotiate blanket or collective licenses with artist organisations. Working together supports innovation with fair treatment of creators. AI growth does not come at the expense of the very artists whose work underpins the technologies.
As lawsuits stack up and legislation tries to keep pace, STIM’s partnership with Songfox may prove a turning point. Combining technology-driven transparency with legal innovation, this agreement offers a roadmap for how the music industry and AI can coexist.
TF Summary: What’s Next
The STIM-Songfox deal represents a bold experiment in aligning the interests of artists and AI companies. If successful, it could influence regulators and inspire similar agreements worldwide. This would provide a sustainable model for creators in an AI-driven future. Meanwhile, ongoing lawsuits in Germany and elsewhere will test the limits of current copyright laws. These will determine whether additional protections are necessary.
MY FORECAST: As AI-generated music is written, the barrier separating innovation and fair compensation remains delicate. STIM’s proactive approach helps establish a new balance for next-gen music rights.
— Text-to-Speech (TTS) provided by gspeech