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Water & Music

RSVP: How music AI attribution actually works

Published about 1 month ago • 1 min read

March 31, 2025

new webinar

DETAILS

Date: Thursday, April 10, 2025

Time: 1PM–2PM EDT

Location: Online via Zoom

PRICING

Current Members: FREE

Non-members: $30

As AI-generated music proliferates, the industry's central question is shifting from "Can AI create music?" to "Who deserves credit and compensation when it does?"

Join W&M team members Cherie Hu, Alexander Flores​, and Yung Spielburg for a focused 60-minute webinar, where we'll cut through the hype around one of the most consequential yet misunderstood areas of music AI: attribution technology — the systems promising to trace AI outputs back to their training data sources and distribute royalties fairly.

Startups including Musical AI, Sureel, Soundverse, and more are moving to market quickly with music AI attribution tools, doing deals with both rights holders and developers. With billions in potential revenue at stake, understanding how this landscape is evolving isn't just a mere technical curiosity; it's business critical for anyone working with music rights today.

WHAT WE'LL COVER

TECH REALITY CHECK:

Why perfect attribution does not exist
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We'll break down the actual capabilities of current attribution methods from a technical perspective, covering methods including influence functions and embedding spaces. We'll reveal key limitations in their technical feasibility, and what this means for any system attempting to track musical influence with perfect precision.

market precedents:

The shape of deals being done today

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​We'll analyze how a wide range of startups including Musical AI, Sureel, Soundverse, Lemonaide, LANDR, and more are taking the attribution challenge head-on with their own unique approaches. We'll share exclusive data on recent licensing deals, and identify which business models are gaining traction despite technical constraints.

Strategic implications:

What this means for industry pros

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To close out, we'll outline actionable strategies for navigating this imperfect landscape — including emerging alternatives to granular attribution, the strategic advantage of certain kinds of catalogs, and how to position yourself favorably in a market still defining its basic rules.

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THIS SESSION IS PERFECT FOR:

  • Rights holders​
    evaluating AI licensing opportunities
    ​
  • Music tech founders
    ​    building AI-powered products
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  • Investors
    ​    assessing pitch decks related to AI and rights
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  • Artists, managers, and industry pros
    ​    concerned about fair compensation from AI models

We'll conclude with 15 minutes of Q&A. You'll leave with a clear understanding of not just how attribution technology works, but how to make practical decisions in a market where the technology remains imperfect.

Reserve your spot now and separate fact from fiction. We look forward to seeing you there!

Can't make it live? Please still RSVP so that you can receive our exclusive recording and recap notes after the fact.

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Water & Music

Research & intelligence for the new music business.

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