YouTube is piloting a new feature that enables creators to use AI to “restyle” licensed songs for their Shorts.
A select group of creators in the experiment can type a prompt to modify different aspects of a song, such as altering its genre or mood, and YouTube’s Dream Track AI will generate a customized 30-second soundtrack based on the description.
According to YouTube, creators participating in the trial can pick a song, specify how they want to restyle it, and generate a unique, AI-reworked track for their Short. These AI-edited soundtracks will display clear attribution to the original song and will indicate that the music was restyled with AI, ensuring transparency for viewers.
The Dream Track feature also includes AI-generated vocals from artists who have opted into the experiment, like Charlie Puth, Charli XCX, Demi Lovato, and John Legend. While the specific songs and partner music labels in this trial phase haven’t been disclosed, a Financial Times report from June revealed that YouTube approached major music labels, offering to use their songs for training AI models.
