‘We’re Trying to Bet Big on Human Artistry’: Spotify’s Sam Duboff Talks AI Initiatives
Categoria: Musica
Duboff recently visited Australia to talk with artists and partners in the domestic industry about its own AI protections and initiatives.
Por Billboard | 12/08/2026
Australia, despite its reputation as a nation obsessed with rough-and-tumble sports, has produced its share of inventions and leading-edge initiatives in the digital age. Wi-fi technology, the electronic pacemaker, and the black box flight recorder were all developed in the Great Southern Land. Boxed wine — colloquially known in these parts as “goon” — is one of ours, too. In December 2025 , Australia became the world’s first country to ban social media for children, implementing groundbreaking laws that block under-16 from such platforms as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Other countries have followed suit. And just last month, Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese committed to strict copyright protections in the AI age , and gave the strongest of assurances that tech companies would not have the right to copyright-protected content, including music, to train AI “without the artist’s control.” With that announcement, the PM also unveiled a new Office of AI, which would design the new Australian standards — essentially a functioning licensing framework built on consent and payment. Those high-level pledges weren’t lost on Sam Duboff , Spotify’s global head of artists, marketing & policy, the executive who leads the streaming giant’s work on artist policy, streaming transparency and responsible AI, making him one of the business’ most senior voices on the intersection of music, technology and public policy. Sam Duboff Courtesy Photo Duboff recently visited Australia to talk with artists and partners in the domestic industry about its own AI protections and initiatives. Albanese’s comments feel to be “very aligned with our approach,” he tells Billboard. “From what I’ve seen,” Duboff notes, “it feels like the (Australian) government positions are really similar to our approach, which is respect for copyright, and making sure this AI age is helping existing IP holders.” One of the messages carried during those meetings down under were on Spotify’s AI music products that “we’ve announced and are planning to build with the industry,” Duboff explains. “The history of Spotify is all about respect for copyright. Spotify was born 20 years ago out of the plate of piracy and we were able to build a license experience that was, you know, making fans want to pay for music. We see a similar opportunity today where a lot of emerging AI tech platforms are, their focus on music products are competing with artists, or trying to replace artists.” Duboff continues, “we think we could build products that respect copyright in partnership with the industry, that power existing artist careers.” As Spotify works to increase transparency around AI usage in songs and on artist profiles, it recently announced partnerships with Universal Music Group (UMG) and Merlin to allow for AI remixing of songs, effectively allowing users to create AI remixes and covers of songs by participating artists signed to labels under the UM