Spotify vs Universal Music Group

Snap Expands SPECS with AI Assistant and Commerce Features

Snap Inc. is enhancing its SPECS augmented reality platform with the launch of SPECS Intelligence, a proactive AI service available on iPhone, Mac, and SPECS AR glasses. The AI analyzes personal contexts from connected apps to offer relevant suggestions without user prompts. The AR glasses are positioned as standalone computers with voice and gesture control. Snap is expanding the ecosystem with media, shopping, navigation, and enterprise applications. New partnerships include Spotify, HBO Max, Tripadvisor, NBA, WNBA, Salesforce, AWS, and NVIDIA. The glasses will be available in the US, UK, and France later this fall, priced at $2,195, with a connected case version at $2,395. Data privacy is emphasized, with user control over data usage and no use for AI training or personalized advertising. Germany launch is not yet announced.

• Snap introduces SPECS Intelligence, a proactive AI service for iPhone, Mac, and SPECS AR glasses.
• SPECS AR glasses are priced at $2,195, with a connected case variant at $2,395.
• Glasses to ship in the US, UK, and France later this fall.

Spotify expands podcast partner program to 35 new countries

Spotify is expanding its podcast partner program to 35 new regions, including Italy, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Poland, Chile, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas. The expansion allows eligible podcasters to earn revenue from both video and audio podcasts through ad revenue sharing and Premium subscriber engagement. Since Spotify lowered its monetization thresholds in January, video podcast consumption has increased by 140% and total monthly payouts have risen by over a third. The program previously operated in the U.S., Europe, and Australia, making this the largest geographical expansion to date. Podcasters can still distribute shows on other platforms and retain sponsorship revenue.

• Spotify expands partner program to 35 new countries including Italy, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Poland, Chile, Dominican Republic, Bahamas.
• Eligible podcasters earn revenue from video and audio podcasts, including ad revenue share and Premium user impressions.
• Video podcast consumption on Spotify increased 140% since 2022 launch.

Spotify Launches Toggle to Exclude Kids' Music

Spotify has introduced a new toggle that allows parents to exclude children's and family music from their taste profiles. The feature, rolling out globally on mobile for Free and Premium users, will prevent kids' songs played on shared devices like smart speakers and car stereos from affecting personalized recommendations, playlists like Discover Weekly and Daily Mix, and the year-end Spotify Wrapped experience. The toggle defaults to including kids' music but can be switched off, applying retroactively to past listening. This addresses a long-standing complaint from parents whose accounts are often used for family listening on home devices linked to a parent's profile. Previously, excluding such music required manually selecting specific tracks or playlists. The feature launches alongside other parental controls like Managed Accounts for listeners under 13.

• Spotify announced a new toggle to exclude kids' and family music from user taste profiles.
• The feature is rolling out globally on mobile for both Free and Premium users.
• Excluded music will no longer affect recommendations, Discover Weekly, Daily Mix, or Spotify Wrapped.

UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP AND ELEVENLABS ANNOUNCE MULTI-YEAR STRATEGIC AGREEMENT, BEGINNING WITH A NEW LICENSED AI MUSIC CREATION PLATFORM

Universal Music Group and ElevenLabs announce a multi-year strategic agreement, beginning with a new licensed AI music creation platform.

ElevenLabs and Universal Music Partner for AI Song Remixing

Universal Music Group (UMG) and AI audio company ElevenLabs announced a multi-year licensing partnership to develop a platform enabling fans to create remixes, mashups, and reinterpretations of songs from Universal's catalog. The platform will feature music only from artists who actively opt in. Financial terms and a launch date were not disclosed. ElevenLabs, known for voice cloning, has faced legal challenges over voice cloning without consent, settling one case in August 2025 but still facing a class action. This is ElevenLabs' first major music label deal, while Universal has previously partnered with Udio, Klay, Spotify, and Nvidia. The initiative combines ElevenLabs' AI models with Universal's rights management and artist community, aiming to provide fair compensation to artists and songwriters.

• Universal Music Group and ElevenLabs announced a multi-year licensing partnership to develop a fan remixing platform.
• The platform will feature music from artists who actively opt in and will be separate from ElevenLabs' existing music offerings.
• ElevenLabs has a song generator and a Music API, as well as a dedicated ElevenMusic app.