UMG and Hook finalise licensing deal for artist remixes

The deal follows two years of collaboration between the companies on artist campaigns and expands Hook’s access to music from UMG’s catalogue. Users will also be able to build fan communities around participating artists within the platform.

“We believe the biggest consumer use case for music creation isn’t making original songs that compete with artists,” Hook founder and chief executive Gaurav Sharma said. “It’s about expressing yourself through the artists and songs you love while participating in the communities and culture they inspire.”

Hook describes itself as a social music app that enables users to create remixes and other forms of music-based content. The platform currently has more than one million tracks available and uses artificial intelligence technology to facilitate creative modifications to recordings.

The agreement places emphasis on attribution, permission and artist control. According to UMG, rights holders can determine which features, including remixing and sound effects, are available for their recordings and can switch those features on or off.

“Rather than building on artists’ work and asking permission later, Hook spent its first years earning licences and building the rights framework with the industry first,” UMG said.

The agreement comes as music companies continue to develop licensing frameworks for artificial intelligence and other technologies that enable users to manipulate existing recordings.

UMG has recently entered licensing arrangements with technology companies including Klay Vision and Udio, as well as Spotify, as the music industry seeks models that allow AI-powered creativity while addressing copyright, remuneration and artist control.

Hook secured a $10 million Series A investment in February, with investors including Waverley Capital and Khosla Ventures. The company also entered into an integration partnership with SoundCloud last year.

The UMG-Hook agreement adds another model to the growing range of licensed music-creation services, giving rights holders greater control over how their recordings are used while allowing fans to create and share music-based content.