What happened

SoundCloud discreetly changed its terms of service, adding a clause that many interpreted as giving the company the right to use users' music and audio uploads to train AI models - including generative AI capable of replicating or synthesising artists' voices, music, or likeness. 

The update went largely unnoticed until it was flagged by users and reported in the media, leading to widespread anger and accusations that SoundCloud was exploiting artists' creative output without consent. 

SoundCloud initially claimed the language was only meant to clarify internal uses of AI for recommendations and fraud detection, not for training generative AI models.

Many artists said they would delete their accounts in protest. 

Why it happened

SoundCloud claimed the change was intended to reflect its internal use of AI for platform features like music discovery, recommendation algorithms, and fraud prevention - not for generative AI training that could replicate or replace artists' work. 

However, the language in the terms was overly broad and vague, creating confusion and distrust among users.