Spotify (SPOT.US) is rumored to launch an AI mixing service in the first quarter of next year, with an additional monthly fee of 4 to 5 US dollars

The Zhitong Finance App learned that, according to reports, Spotify (SPOT.US) plans to launch an AI-driven music mixing service in the first quarter of 2027 and aims to debut before and after the Grammy Awards in February next year; the Swedish audio streaming giant is considering charging subscribers an additional 4 to 5 dollars per month.

What can be done

According to reports, paid subscribers can use AI to make their own versions of existing songs — for example, changing a folk song into a dance song, or making it sound like one singer is “covering” another singer's work. Unlike tools like Suno and Udio that generate new songs from text prompts, Spotify doesn't write out of thin air, but rather re-creates an authorized music library.

The real design is splitting the account: royalties from fan-generated mixes and covers are returned to the original artist, and the number of plays is also counted as the original song's performance on the Spotify list. This made the mix no longer a “diversion” of the original song, but a “bonus” for the original song.

What step does copyright talk about

The contracts have been signed by Universal Music Group, Merlin, an independent label licensing organization, and the French music company Believe; negotiations are still ongoing between Sony Music and Warner Music.

Add two additional pieces of background. First, Spotify listed Sony Music, Warner Music, Universal Music, Merlin, and Believe as partners for AI music products in October 2025, but Sony and Warner have yet to implement an exclusive license for this mixing tool. Second, Spotify's announced license list for this tool also includes Kobalt — Global signed an investor day agreement in May 2026, Merlin and Kobalt joined in August, and Believe (including its DIY distribution platform Tunecore) joined later.

The artist level reserved the right of veto. According to the arrangement between Believe and TuneCore, artists must first choose whether to participate in AI projects, and then decide whether to join specific collaborations, including Spotify, one by one. Spotify Co-CEO Alex Norström said in May this year that the project was based on the three principles of “consent, signature, and reward.”

Why now

The first is platform governance. Spotify said on October 20 that it has removed more than 50 million junk and low-quality tracks from recommendations since 2026, and more than 75 million tracks have been completely removed due to serious or repeated violations — it is cutting “AI garbage” and “authorized creation” into two things.

The second is industry trends. The copyright party is changing from the prosecution to the authorized party: Suno released the V6 model in September of this year. The training materials are from the authorized music libraries of Warner, BMG, and Believe; Udio has settled with Global and has become a partner. Spotify chose not to connect to a third-party generation tool, but instead used the mix as its own paid value-added item to include the gray behavior that originally occurred on TikTok and YouTube into a system that can be charged, divided, and included in the list.

Potential financial impact

Spotify announced the third quarter of 2026 (ending September 30) with 306 million paid subscribers and 788 million monthly active users, with total revenue of 4.969 billion euros, an increase of 16% over the previous year, including Premium business revenue of 4.487 billion euros and Premium monthly ARPU of 4.95 euros, an increase of 9.3% year over year. The additional monthly fee of 4 to 5 dollars is already close to the current level of monthly payments per person — if implemented, it will be the company's most aggressive attempt to raise prices in recent years.

It should be clarified that Spotify has so far only publicly acknowledged that this is a premium paid add-on. Neither the price nor the launch date has been announced; 4 to 5 dollars and the first quarter of 2027 are all “under consideration” plans in the report.

What determines whether this service can be realized is not technology, but three things: whether Sony and Warner sign, the scale of artists' participation, and whether users are willing to pay close to the current subscription price for a “song change” feature.