Spotify and Universal Music have announced a new deal which will allow Spotify subscribers to use artificial intelligence to remix and generate covers of songs on its platform.

The feature will be a paid add-on to its Premium subscription and introduces a “new creation model” to the platform, in which participating artists will be able to share in revenue generated from “AI-driven licenced covers and remixes”.

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“What we’re building is grounded in consent, credit and compensation for the artists and songwriters that take part,” said Spotify Co-CEO Alex Norström.

“Through each technological transformation, we have worked together with Sir Lucian [Grainge, Chairman and CEO of the Universal Music Group] and his team to evolve the music ecosystem into a richer, more beneficial experience for fans and a more rewarding outcome for artists and songwriters.”

Following a wave of backlash, Norström defended the decision, telling The Financial Times that the feature was a “controlled” use of AI where artists are able to consent to and share in revenue from its usage, as opposed to “rogue attempts” at the same content through piracy.

In February, the Victorian Music Office published its research examining the impact of music streaming algorithms on Australian artists. It found that that Spotify’s algorithms favour established and US-based artists, which likely contributes to a lower algorithmic reach for Australian musicians.

With more AI-driven content from these artists on its platform, the feature could pose an even bigger threat to the discoverability of Australian artists on Spotify.

Spotify’s AI toolkit includes its AI DJ and AI Playlist feature, which generates a playlist from a user-given prompt. The platform also recently announced the Personal Podcasts feature, where users can generate “short, private audio episodes tailored to their interests and listening habits,” as well as a new AI interface where users can ask questions as they play a podcast.

In January, music streaming giant Bandcamp announced that it would not allow music “generated wholly or in substantial part by AI” on its platform.

“With this policy, we’re putting human creativity first, and we will be sure to communicate any updates to the policy as the rapidly changing generative AI space develops,” it shared in a media release.