HomeSoundCloud Clarifies It Does Not Train AI on User Music
In February of last year, the music-sharing platform SoundCloud discreetly revised its terms of use, introducing new provisions that permit the training of AI models using user‑generated material, as reported by TechCrunch. Although the company states it has not actually used user content for model training, it leaves the door open for such use in the future.
Marni Greenberg, SoundCloud's Senior Vice President and head of communications, shared the following statement via email to The Verge:
SoundCloud has never employed artist content to train AI models, nor do we develop AI tools or allow third parties to scrape or utilize SoundCloud content from our platform for AI training purposes. In fact, we have implemented technical safeguards, including a "no AI" tag on our website, to explicitly block unauthorized use.
Greenberg further explained that the update to SoundCloud's terms of service was designed "to clarify how content could interact with AI technologies within SoundCloud’s own platform." She noted that the company already applies AI for functions such as personalized recommendations and fraud detection, and indicated that future AI uses on the platform would follow similar principles.
When we inquired about allowing users to opt out of having their music used for generative AI development, Greenberg responded as follows:
The Terms of Service explicitly forbid the use of licensed content—such as music from major labels—for training any AI models, including generative AI. For other types of content uploaded to SoundCloud, the Terms of Service do allow for potential AI‑related usage.
Notably, no such use has occurred to date, and SoundCloud plans to introduce comprehensive internal permission controls to manage any potential future use. Should we ever contemplate using user content to train generative AI models, we would, at a minimum, provide clear opt‑out options beforehand, and we remain dedicated to transparency with our creator community.
Hopefully, SoundCloud will make a stronger effort to inform users about those opt‑out mechanisms than it seems to have done with last year’s AI‑related terms update. Tech ethicist Ed Newton‑Rex, who first noticed the changes covered by TechCrunch, posted that he "can’t see any emails" alerting him that the terms had been modified. I also contribute to SoundCloud and likewise found no emails about the changes upon checking. SoundCloud’s terms state that it will give "prominent notice" of significant revisions to its terms, but it does not guarantee that such notice will come via email.
Below is SoundCloud’s complete original statement, as provided to The Verge by Greenberg:
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SoundCloud снова запутался в своих правилах🤔 Даже если компания отрицает использование музыки для обучения ИИ, постоянное изменение условий вызывает недоверие. Как пользователь, я чувствую себя игроком в лотерее, где мелким шрифтом скрыта возможность того, что твоё творчество станет 'топливом' для алгоритмов. Может, пора перейти на платформу, где политика конфиденциальности не напоминает лабиринт?
In February of last year, the music-sharing platform SoundCloud discreetly revised its terms of use, introducing new provisions that permit the training of AI models using user‑generated material, as reported by TechCrunch. Although the company states it has not actually used user content for model training, it leaves the door open for such use in the future.
Marni Greenberg, SoundCloud's Senior Vice President and head of communications, shared the following statement via email to The Verge:
SoundCloud has never employed artist content to train AI models, nor do we develop AI tools or allow third parties to scrape or utilize SoundCloud content from our platform for AI training purposes. In fact, we have implemented technical safeguards, including a "no AI" tag on our website, to explicitly block unauthorized use.
Greenberg further explained that the update to SoundCloud's terms of service was designed "to clarify how content could interact with AI technologies within SoundCloud’s own platform." She noted that the company already applies AI for functions such as personalized recommendations and fraud detection, and indicated that future AI uses on the platform would follow similar principles.
When we inquired about allowing users to opt out of having their music used for generative AI development, Greenberg responded as follows:
The Terms of Service explicitly forbid the use of licensed content—such as music from major labels—for training any AI models, including generative AI. For other types of content uploaded to SoundCloud, the Terms of Service do allow for potential AI‑related usage.
Notably, no such use has occurred to date, and SoundCloud plans to introduce comprehensive internal permission controls to manage any potential future use. Should we ever contemplate using user content to train generative AI models, we would, at a minimum, provide clear opt‑out options beforehand, and we remain dedicated to transparency with our creator community.
Hopefully, SoundCloud will make a stronger effort to inform users about those opt‑out mechanisms than it seems to have done with last year’s AI‑related terms update. Tech ethicist Ed Newton‑Rex, who first noticed the changes covered by TechCrunch, posted that he "can’t see any emails" alerting him that the terms had been modified. I also contribute to SoundCloud and likewise found no emails about the changes upon checking. SoundCloud’s terms state that it will give "prominent notice" of significant revisions to its terms, but it does not guarantee that such notice will come via email.
Below is SoundCloud’s complete original statement, as provided to The Verge by Greenberg:
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SoundCloud снова запутался в своих правилах🤔 Даже если компания отрицает использование музыки для обучения ИИ, постоянное изменение условий вызывает недоверие. Как пользователь, я чувствую себя игроком в лотерее, где мелким шрифтом скрыта возможность того, что твоё творчество станет 'топливом' для алгоритмов. Может, пора перейти на платформу, где политика конфиденциальности не напоминает лабиринт?
