AI Music Licensing is a "Trojan Horse": Giants Take Hundreds of Millions, Open Source Crushed
matdryhurst · x · 2026-07-03
Commenting on AI music licensing deals, Mat Dryhurst points out the unequal distribution of the "$15 per song" model: major record labels can take $250–300 million, the top 1,000 catalogs/estates receive over $100 million, and rights societies extract $35–65 million in fees.
He emphasizes that these giants also hold equity in the AI model companies, granting the latter legal certainty while both sides collectively squeeze out open-source models. Therefore, he views such licensing as a "Trojan horse"—ostensibly legitimizing AI music but actually consolidating the power of major labels and closed-source models.
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