SoundCloud is facing scrutiny over a change to its Terms of Use that appeared to suggest user content could be utilised for AI training. The update, made in February 2024, went largely unnoticed until tech ethicist Ed Newton-Rex highlighted it last week and raised concerns about how artists’ work might be leveraged by AI systems.
SoundCloud seems to claim the right to train on people's uploaded music in their terms. I think they have major questions to answer over this.
— Ed Newton-Rex (@ednewtonrex) May 9, 2025
I checked the wayback machine - it seems to have been added to their terms on 12th Feb 2024. I'm a SoundCloud user and I can't see any… pic.twitter.com/NIk7TP7K3C
The altered text states that by uploading content to the platform, creators “explicitly agree that your Content may be used to inform, train, develop or serve as input to artificial intelligence or machine intelligence technologies or services as part of and for providing the services.” This wording set off alarm bells among artists, prompting SoundCloud to issue a series of clarifications.
In a statement to TechCrunch, a SoundCloud spokesperson said that the company “has never used artist content to train AI models,” insisting that the update was only intended to clarify how content might interact with AI systems within the platform. The company also said it does not develop AI tools or allow third parties to scrape content for AI training purposes.
Marni Greenberg, SoundCloud’s SVP and head of communications, told The Verge that no artist content has been used for AI training so far, including independent music not subject to label agreements. Greenberg added that SoundCloud plans to introduce “robust internal permissioning controls” to oversee any future AI-related content usage.
On Reddit, SoundCloud’s official account repeated this stance and noted that the platform has introduced a "no AI" tag that allows artists to prohibit unauthorised use of their work in AI projects. According to SoundCloud, AI is currently limited to functions like music recommendations, playlist curation, and fraud detection. Any potential AI tools in the future, the company said, would focus on enhancing artist discovery and protecting rights.
Despite these assurances, SoundCloud’s recent foray into AI tools for music creation has drawn additional scrutiny. In the past year, the company has rolled out AI-driven features for generating remixes, new tracks, beats, and synthetic singing voices. These developments, combined with the terms of use update, have fueled skepticism among some users who question the extent to which their content could be used for AI training without explicit consent.
