F1 TV was named Apple TV’s App of the Year, and as a new user, I’d say it’s well-deserved. My top content pick on the platform? Tech Talk Retro — for obvious reasons.
A peek into today’s edition:
- The future of AI in music
- Tech Byte: Squid Game: Unleashed
- Spotify‘s dominance is on the rise
The Future of Music: AI, Ethics, and Innovation
The future of AI in music is marked by ongoing legal battles, with major labels like Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Records suing startups such as Udio and Suno for allegedly using copyrighted songs to train their AI models. It’s safe to say the music industry is eager to navigate this evolving landscape.
Still, the possibilities between AI and music are endless, so I spoke with a few industry experts to gather their insights on how AI will shape the future of music creation, distribution, copyright, and more.
Recording Academy’s Harvey Mason Jr.
Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, is a veteran songwriter and producer with over 30 years of experience in the music industry. His work spans all genres and includes collaborations with icons like Beyoncé, Elton John, and Justin Bieber. He has also expanded into producing film and television content, along with music for both mediums. I spoke to him in depth about the ethical implications of using AI in music and what the industry should be prepared for as the tech evolves.
“There are ethical issues, and then there are legal issues. The copyright office at some point is gonna probably weigh in here, and then there’s when you talk about generative,” Mason Jr. told Boardroom. “And then the other thing is, how are we going to ensure that consumers know the difference between AI creativity and human creativity? So, there’s a lot to think about, [which is] very nuanced, and a lot of detail that has to happen before we’re [at] a place where I think we’re all comfortable with it.”
Mason Jr. raised key concerns about AI in music, including how AI models are trained, how artists and musicians are credited, how AI voice replication is created and tracked, and whether original works and artists will receive proper recognition and payment. He also addressed how AI-generated music could impact royalties and whether there will be an approval process for AI models trained on copyrighted material.
“AI has incredible potential to enhance and amplify creativity and can really do some amazing things when it comes to making music,” he said. “But we wanna make sure that human creativity is preserved and always AI is used as a tool that replacement.”
There are so many considerations when it comes to creating guidelines around AI use in music that I asked Mason Jr. if it’s even possible to get some operating parameters down on paper and implemented across the industry. He said this could possibly be accomplished through legislation that will protect some form of human artistry. He also foresees some legal actions to be taken regarding training AI models.
“We also have to advocate as human creators, and we have to make sure that we’re talking to the developers, the programmers, or talking to journalists like we’re doing here today, talking to lawmakers around the country and make sure that, that we’re just continuing to point out the importance of human creativity and what it means to society,” Mason Jr. said.
Mason Jr. made it clear that he’s not against AI but against taking humans out of the creative process of making music. He said he wants to see AI used as an aid or enhancer and that many disruptive technologies have impacted the industry in the past, like the introduction of synthesizers and platforms like Pro Tools. Mason Jr. sees AI implementation as an opportunity for musicians to create music and maybe use the tech to make new sounds they’ve never heard of. Still, he thinks the use of AI in music has to be in service to the human creator, making it a very powerful and valuable tool in the industry.
“Technology continues to evolve and brings new creativity to people figuring out how to leverage it or deploy it,” he said. “I’m very confident that this will be the same thing.”
There will be an appetite for a lot of creativity, and the music industry will be tasked with figuring out what AI can’t do and maybe be more creative in that space. Aside from music creation, AI will also affect how listeners interact with and discover music. It will also impact how music is recognized and honored.
“Now and Then” by The Beatles was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance at the 2025 Grammy Awards. There was AI used in the production of the song, and while many are touting it as the first AI-assisted song to be nominated for a Grammy, Mason Jr. said that’s not the case. He said he’s “pretty positive that it’s not.” He also made it clear that if AI fully produced any aspect of a song, then that song wouldn’t be Grammy-eligible. For example, if AI wrote a song, the Recording Academy won’t give it a Grammy in the songwriting category.
Looking ahead, Mason Jr. emphasized that the focus should be on understanding how AI will integrate into the music ecosystem.
“The stories that we tell, the passion that goes into this music, the humanity, and the human connectivity that comes from this art form is irreplaceable,” he said. “I don’t think any of us want that to be replaced by AI creativity.”
Vermillio’s Kathleen Grace
Kathleen Grace, Vermillio’s Chief Creative Officer, is an expert in all things AI and its relationship with intellectual property. Vermillio is on a mission to build the guardrails for a generative AI internet to enable studios, record labels, and talent to protect and monetize their content. The company developed an AI rights management platform that lets users protect and license IP. Grace shared sentiments similar to Mason Jr.’s, but she operates from the tech side of the conversation, having also previously worked at YouTube.
“These are the guardrails that record labels are gonna need to use tools like Suno so that they know their IP is protected [and] so that fans and musicians can be empowered to use these tools to their fullest extent,” she said.
Grace emphasized that her primary role is to help people overcome their fear of AI and ensure the technology is used safely. She stressed the importance of AI companies and users properly crediting and compensating all parties involved in AI-generated music.
“The music industry is particularly well suited to understand [this]. They know what split rates are. They have songwriting royalties; they have recording royalties. This is just another royalty to police and understand and derive value. So if you make a song with half Drake, half The Weeknd, and a little bit of Beyoncé, each should get paid, and the songwriters who worked on the original data should also be compensated.”
The AI-generated viral song “Heart on My Sleeve,” which features the voices of Drake and The Weeknd, sparked a larger debate around the ethics of AI-generated music. Grace explained that it actually wasn’t the use of the artists’ voices that ultimately prompted platforms to take the song down; it was the fact that it explicitly featured a lyric by a songwriter.
She said that’s the right that’s strongly protected in the current copyright landscape: the IP, not the melody, harmony, or vocals in the song.
“They have a legal right to the recording of their voice but not the likeness of their voice,” Grace explained.
Much like Mason Jr., Grace sees AI as a powerful tool. She said AI is an incredible prediction machine and stomping ground for creative inspiration.
“It’s very good at guessing what note should be next, but it doesn’t have taste,” she said.
She used Tyler, the Creator, as an example of an artist with unique music that has a special relationship with his fanbase. No computer or AI platform can operate in that way or replicate the human perspective. Grace says she doesn’t know if AI has the power to ever master that. Another unique case is Kanye West and his emotional connection to gospel music that ultimately sparked the Sunday Service Choir.
If anything, these artists and their relationship with music are needed to inspire AI creativity.
“We can’t stop progress, but because it will be a tool that will unlock amazing creativity out of people, those people should be awarded and considered on the same footing as someone who uses Pro Tools,” Grace said. “I think the labels that are looking at this stuff carefully and thinking about not just suing the pants off of people are the ones who understand the real direction of the industry.”
Grace went as far as to say that she thinks AI technology will not only be the underpinning of the future of the music industry, but of the internet.
“I think what’s so interesting right now is there’s so much opportunity in AI,” she said. “We’re seeing companies like OpenAI, Character.AI, and Perplexity not just arise because a lot of them have been around for a couple of years. They just finally have their genesis product that’s getting out there,” she said. “And then I think back to Google, Amazon, and Apple, where they first started and what Amazon was when it initially started.”
The opportunity AI offers musicians lies in deepening their relationship with the technology and co-creating music alongside it. Grace believes AI will revolutionize how people engage with music. She envisions a future where listeners could pay for personalized AI-generated albums from their favorite artists, should the opportunity arise.
For now, the music industry needs to establish clear operating parameters to navigate AI’s impact and ensure it benefits all parties involved.
Tech Byte
Netflix is making Squid Game: Unleashed, a multiplayer game inspired by the hit series, available to everyone — subscribers or not — for a limited time starting Dec. 17. The release underscores Netflix’s expanding gaming efforts, offering ad-free games with no extra fees or in-app purchases.
This Week in Tech
- Spotify‘s market cap briefly surpassed $100 billion, exceeding the combined value of the largest music publishers, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. The surge comes as the music streamer announced that The Weeknd is headlining its first-ever Billions Club Live in LA on Dec. 17, an invite-only event for top fans to celebrate songs with over one billion streams.
- Apple‘s iOS 18.2 introduced significant updates to Apple Intelligence, including the highly anticipated ChatGPT integration and language expansion. The upgrade features Image Playground, Genmoji, enhanced Writing Tools, and new tools for the Notes app.
- Netflix is partnering with Mastercard to offer exclusive benefits, such as presale tickets, for the streamer’s upcoming immersive events in 2025. Mastercard will be the preferred payment partner for Netflix Bites, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, and Netflix House. Elsewhere, Duolingo announced a partnership with Netflix’s Squid Game to promote Korean language learning.
- MasterClass released a new offering dubbed MasterClass On Call, a subscription-based service offering unlimited and on-demand AI replicas of its celebrity instructors for $10 per month or $84 annually. Big names such as Mark Cuban, Gordon Ramsay, Chris Voss, and Richard Branson inked deals to bring their replicas to MasterClass’ new platform.
- YouTube on TV thrived in 2024 as viewers globally streamed over 1 billion hours daily, with sports, kids-focused content, and podcasts driving the most growth. Watchtime for sports content on TV grew over 30% year-over-year as YouTube TV plans to boost its live TV service subscription from $72.99 to $82.99 per month starting Jan. 13.
- PUMA and Manchester City launched the PUMA AI Creator tool, an AI-powered platform allowing fans to design the club’s official Third kit for the 2026/27 season, with the winning design to be worn on-pitch and sold to fans. Fans can submit kit designs until Dec. 20, after which PUMA and Manchester City will shortlist the top ten for public voting in January.
- Google‘s 2024 trending searches spotlighted global events like the UEFA European Championship and quirky moments like “Olympics chocolate muffins,” inspired by Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen. Elections led news searches, with “U.S. Election,” while Usher topped US music searches after his Super Bowl halftime show. Pop culture buzz centered on Inside Out 2 and Kendrick Lamar’s viral hit “Not Like Us.” Searches using Lens, Circle to Search, and Maps revealed curiosity about translation, shopping, and iconic spots like Italy’s Arena di Verona and Las Vegas’ Sphere.
Michelai’s Bet of the Week
This week, Amazon launched Amazon Autos, an online car shopping platform in partnership with Hyundai, allowing customers to browse vehicles from local dealers in 48 US states. I’m going to bet that Amazon will expand its newest venture and add more car brands in 2025.
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