Jermaine Dupri calls for collective artist terms on Spotify AI remixes

Jermaine Dupri has urged musicians and producers to negotiate collectively before Spotify introduces an AI-powered tool for fan-made covers and remixes. He said creators, rather than music companies alone, should determine both the fee for using recordings and which songs can be reworked.

Dupri argued that the technology could move the value of recorded music away from the artists and producers behind it. “THEY GOTTA CUT US IN, OR CUT THIS SH-T OUT,” he wrote. In a separate post, he cited Spotify’s projected $21.85 billion in annual revenue and called on artists to “come together and create a fee” and set the recordings eligible for the service.

The intervention challenges the structure taking shape around Spotify’s licensing deals. The company has said the product will be a paid add-on for Premium subscribers, focused on AI-assisted versions of existing music rather than entirely new songs. As we reported Nov. 1, Spotify was targeting the first quarter of 2027 for the service, though its timetable remained provisional.

Spotify has struck licensing agreements for the planned tool with Universal Music Group and, separately, Believe and its distribution arm TuneCore. Agreements also include Merlin and Kobalt. Under the Believe and TuneCore arrangement, artists use a two-stage consent process: they may first choose whether to be considered for AI-related programmes, then decide whether to take part in Spotify’s specific offer.

For artists who participate, streams of fan-created remixes are intended to generate royalties for the artists and rights holders behind the original works. The remixes would also link back to the source track and artist, a mechanism Spotify says should lead listeners to discover or revisit the original recording.

Spotify Co-CEO Alex Norström has described the planned service as grounded in “consent, credit, and compensation” for participating artists and songwriters. But Spotify has not publicly disclosed how royalties would be divided or outlined a system through which individual musicians could set their own prices, the core distinction in Dupri’s demand.

The company has framed the tool as an effort to bring widespread fan remixing into a licensed, controlled environment. Dupri had previously criticised the AI music generator Udio in 2024, arguing that musicians who had spent years learning their craft should not have to follow rules set by technology companies.

Reuters, citing the Financial Times, reported that Spotify had considered an additional monthly charge of $4 to $5, but the price had not been finalised.