The use of AI in music is proving to be a controversial topic, with the development of technology capable of artificially generating musical parts, lyrics and sound sources sparking all manner of debates amongst creatives and audiences alike. Something of particular concern to many, is the technology’s ability to replicate an artist’s voice, and the implication that has not only on issues such as copyright infringement, but on creators’ income and artistic integrity.
This concern is something that has been recognised by Kits.AI, a new AI voice platform which was launched in July 2023, and are said to be the only platform who are working directly with artists in order to licence and release their voice models. Artists are able to use the company’s technology to create a model of their voice, which is then hosted on Kits.AI’s growing online library along with their royalty split terms.
The company have implemented a unique licensing approach which is based on artist permission: those who wish to use voice models from the library are granted with a ‘Personal Until Approved’ licence, which can be used for non-commercial projects. Any commercial use must be submitted for approval, which will result in the artist listening to the submission, and either approving or denying its use. Kits.AI says that the aim of the service and licensing model is to make artist voice models accessible, whilst ensuring artists retain full control over their commercial likeness.
“When we saw Grimes embracing AI to amplify her voice and engage her community, we were really excited by all the possibilities it could open for artists. But not all artists have the same resources as Grimes to support this kind of experiment. We believe that artists of all levels can open new revenue streams and build their communities if they have a way to do it themselves, so we set out to build it with Kits.AI.” - Evan Dhillon, co-founder of Kits
The company have amassed over 100,000 users since launching, with their voice cloning technology training more than 80,000 custom voices based on the conversion of over 1,000,000 audio files. They have also been backed by investments from a number of organisations and artists, including Kygo’s Palm Tree Crew fund, Austin Rosen’s Electric Feel Ventures, Anthony Saleh’s WndrCo, 3LAU, Steve Aoki, Lionel Richie and Wyclef Jean.
More information on Kits.AI can be found on the company’s website.
