Universal Music Group (UMG) may be taking action against the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the music industry.

The Financial Times reports that the leading music company is requesting that streaming services block AI from having access to copyrighted content.

UMG’s request is due to its concerns about AI companies possibly training bots to create music.

“We have a moral and commercial responsibility to our artists to work to prevent the unauthorized use of their music and to stop platforms from ingesting content that violates the rights of artists and other creators,” a UMG spokesperson shared in a statement, per Financial Times. “We expect our platform partners will want to prevent their services from being used in ways that harm artists.”

The ask comes on the heels of the growing trend of people using AI to emulate artists’ voices.

And for Universal Music Group, it’s not the first time the company has voiced its concerns regarding AI.

“We have become aware that certain AI systems might have been trained on copyrighted content without obtaining the required consents from, or paying compensation to, the rightsholders who own or produce the content,” UMG wrote in an email in March 2023, per the outlet. “We will not hesitate to take steps to protect our rights and those of our artists.”

Artists have also come forward with their disapproval of how AI is taking over. After a clip of Drake’s voice rapping Ice Spice’s “Munch (Feelin’ U),” the rapper addressed it on Instagram.

“This the final straw AI,” Drake wrote in an Instagram story, per Complex. 

As previously reported by AfroTech, another viral clip that caused a debate online was of an AI-backed voice filter mimicking Kendrick Lamar’s voice.

“Of course my mind goes to the ethical and legal aspects of what can be done with programs like Tacotron 2,” Young Guru shared in a now-deleted Instagram post in response to the Kendrick Lamar video, per Complex. “You add that to the power of ChatGPT and you realize we are in a very groundbreaking but dangerous moment. It’s not the tech, it’s the evil that men do with the tech. There are legal aspects because at this present moment you can’t copyright a voice.”