STIM Announces ‘World’s First AI License for Music”

Sweden-based collection society STIM has launched what it calls “the world’s first collective AI license for music.”

How it works:

• As per STIM’s release, the license covers a selection of works by creators who have “explicitly” given their consent for their music to be used for training by AI models.

• STIM claims the human creators receive royalties during the training process, during the use of the AI service, and when the music it generates is used.

• This is achieved through independent attribution technology, which allows AI-generated music to be traced back to the human-created works that influenced it.

The launch:

• The license is being launched as a pilot project in partnership with the startups Songfox and Sureel.

• As per Music Business Worldwide, Songfox is a Stockholm-based startup that allows creators to legally produce covers and AI-generated compositions.

• Sureel is STIM’s “preferred attribution provider,” allowing the AI output to be traced back to the human-created source.

• Only a limited number of works – all from STIM-affiliated rights holders who have explicitly opted in – are included in the first phase as a way of “stress-testing its framework in a controlled setting.”

• STIM’s license is structured as an “open framework” that will be available to any AI company that meets STIM’s criteria of achieving “fair licensing practices” across the sector.

What they said:

• Lina Heyman, Acting CEO of STIM: “We are establishing a scalable, democratic model for the industry. With the world’s first collective AI license, we show that it is possible to embrace disruption without undermining human creativity. This is not just a commercial initiative but a blueprint for how rights and innovation policies can align, delivering fair compensation for creators and legal certainty for AI firms.”