The Financial Times reported on 30 October, citing people familiar with the plans, that Spotify is aiming to launch a paid AI tool for making covers and remixes of existing songs in the first quarter of 2027. The company is weighing an extra $4 to $5 a month on top of Premium and could show the tool around the Grammy Awards in February. Spotify declined to comment, and the sources said neither the timing nor the price is final.
“Solving hard problems for music is what Spotify does, and fan-made covers and remixes are next. What we’re building is grounded in consent, credit, and compensation for the artists and songwriters that take part”
Alex Norström, Spotify co-CEO (statement of 21 May 2026), in a May 2026 statement · techcrunch.com ↗
Licensing deals are reportedly signed with Universal Music, Merlin, Kobalt and Believe, which includes TuneCore, though one outlet lists only Universal, Merlin and Believe. Sony Music and Warner Music are still negotiating. Individual artists decide for themselves whether to take part, even where their label has licensed its catalogue. Royalties from fan remixes would go to the original artists, and remix plays would count toward the original tracks in Spotify's charts.
A commuter wearing headphones walks past an office building in central Stockholm, Spotify's home city
Image: EconoTimes
Spotify and Believe describe the output as AI remixes and covers, "not entirely new works", made only from licensed recordings, which sets it apart from text-to-music generators such as Suno. Bernstein analyst Ian Moore estimates that 7 to 8 percent of Spotify's US subscribers could pay for it by the end of 2028.
About Spotify
Spotify is a Swedish music and audio streaming company, founded in April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon and headquartered in Stockholm. Its streaming service launched on 7 October 2008 and is one of the world's largest, with over 788 million monthly users, 306 million of them paying subscribers, as of March 2026.
This is not the first time Spotify has talked about AI products built with the major labels. In 2025 it said it was working with Universal, Sony, Warner, Merlin and Believe on artist-first AI products built through upfront agreements. Its licensing partnership with Universal Music Group, announced on 21 May 2026, framed fan-made AI covers and remixes as a paid Premium add-on with revenue sharing.
Universal was the first to announce, in May at Spotify's Investor Day, and Believe followed on 20 October. In August co-CEO Gustav Söderström said Spotify does not need every major label's deal to launch, and that a research preview for a subset of users would come first. Spotify itself has publicly confirmed only a paid Premium add-on, with no price or date.