SoundCloud’s AI Controversy: What Musicians Need to Know

Okay, let’s talk about SoundCloud and AI—because if you’re an artist uploading music there (or anywhere online), this is something you gotta pay attention to.

A few weeks ago, musicians freaked out when SoundCloud quietly updated its Terms of Service (TOS) with some very suspicious wording about AI. Naturally, people assumed the worst—that SoundCloud might be training AI models on their music without permission.

Cue the outrage.

Wait, What Did SoundCloud Actually Say?

Here’s the line that set everything off:

“You explicitly agree that your content may be used to inform, train, develop or serve as input to artificial intelligence or machine intelligence technologies…”

Yikes. That sounds like “we might feed your music to AI,” right?

But then SoundCloud backpedaled hard, saying:

“We’ve never used artist content to train AI models, and we don’t allow third parties to scrape it either.”

They also mentioned they added a “no AI” tag to block unauthorized use.

So… which is it?

**How AI Is Actually Being Used on SoundCloud**

According to SoundCloud, their AI tools are for:

Personalized recommendations (like “Discover Weekly” playlists)
Fraud detection (finding fake streams/bots)
Content organization (auto-tagging genres, moods, etc.)

They also own Musiio, an AI company they bought in 2022, which helps with music discovery—not generating new tracks.

But Here’s the Problem…

Even if SoundCloud isn’t training AI music generators (yet), their TOS still leaves the door open for it in the future.

Ed Newton-Rex (founder of Fairly Trained, a nonprofit pushing for ethical AI) pointed out:

“The terms of service clearly allow it. They need to rule this out.”

Some artists, like composer Gareth Baker Thomas, have already deleted their music from SoundCloud over this.

Should You Be Worried?

Honestly? Maybe.

If you’re a musician, here’s what you should consider:

SoundCloud says they’ll add “opt-out” options if they ever use your music for generative AI.
Major-label music is (supposedly) safe—their licensing deals block AI training.
Independent artists are more vulnerable—since their tracks don’t have the same protections.

What Can You Do?

Read the TOS (I know, it’s boring, but important).
Use the “no AI” tag if you’re worried.
Consider diversifying platforms—Bandcamp, for example, has been more artist-friendly.

The Bigger Picture: AI vs. Musicians

This isn’t just a SoundCloud issue. Major labels are suing AI music companies (Suno & Udio) for copyright infringement. The fear? That AI will replace human artists by spitting out infinite songs trained on their work.

SoundCloud insists they’re “artist-first,” but… well, we’ve heard that before.

Final Thoughts

AI can be a useful tool—helping with recommendations, tagging, even creative inspiration. But when platforms start training models on your music without consent? That’s where things get messy.

For now, SoundCloud claims they’re not doing that. But their TOS still gives them the power to. So… keep an eye on this.

Useful Links

What do you think? Would you keep your music on SoundCloud after this? Let me know—I’m curious. 🎵

“SoundCloud Denies Using Artist Content to Train AI Models Amid Backlash”