Saregama sees AI boosting efficiency but vows action against unlicensed use of its music

Kolkata, Nov 12 (PTI) Music label Saregama India sees artificial intelligence (AI) as a long-term opportunity to reduce costs and accelerate time to market, but will continue to fight the unlicensed use of its music catalogue, the company's MD Vikram Mehra said.

    Speaking to analysts during a recent earnings call, Mehra said the company supports licensed innovation and is incorporating safeguards against dilution of rights and potential fraud into all its new digital licensing agreements.

    "Saregama's position on AI remains that it will be beneficial to the company in the long run, both in terms of cost reduction and speed to market. But while we support licensed innovation, we at Saregama will consistently fight against unlicensed exploitation," he said.

    Mehra said data and consumer research suggest that AI-generated music is gaining traction primarily in terms of volume rather than actual listener engagement.

    Much of the limited content that has gained global attention comprises AI versions of existing hits, he added.

    For catalogue owners, the more immediate concern is the unauthorised use of their songs in AI-generated covers and remakes, rather than competition from AI-generated original music, Mehra said.

    "Saregama has invested in technology to track such versions across streaming platforms and either acquire the rights to them or have them taken down," he said.

    The company is also proactively engaging with AI creators to explore opportunities to own and distribute AI versions of its popular songs, he added.

    Mehra said the global music industry was increasingly moving towards the position advocated by Saregama.

    He cited Universal's call for AI-generated filler content to be paid less than human-created music, and Spotify's efforts to develop licensed remix and cover features with the consent, credit and compensation of rights holders.

    "This is exactly the model we are pushing for AI versions of our catalogue -- licensed, credited, and paid," he said.

    Mehra said Saregama has also set up two teams dedicated to using AI to improve operational efficiency and speed, Mehra said.

    One team is focused on content creation, using generative AI tools to develop podcasts based on the company's songs and create new-age music videos around older tracks, he said, adding that Saregama plans to release around 100 hours of podcast content in the third quarter using these tools he said.

    Mehra said the second team is examining processes across the company to identify areas where AI tools can improve efficiency, noting that this has already resulted in marginal savings in manpower costs.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)