Universal Music Group & AI Gaming Company TYGER Announce Licensing Deal

Universal Music Group announced a licensing agreement with TYGER on Thursday (Oct. 22). TYGER utilizes AI to help music adapt in real-time to fan gameplay. The new deal allows for UMG artists to participate, with TYGER users having access to select UMG songs.

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TYGER previously had more than 400,000 songs on its platform, primarily with independent artists. The new deal marks their first agreement with a major label.

“Gaming is where the next generation spends its time, discovers culture and connects with friends, but music has never had a native way to reach those audiences,” Nick Venti, CEO and cofounder of TYGER, said in a statement. “This agreement with Universal Music Group is an important milestone for TYGER and validates our vision for the future of music in and around interactive and digital experiences. Together, we’re creating new opportunities for players, developers, artists, songwriters and rights holders alike.”

Michael Nash, chief digital officer and executive vp at UMG, said, “At UMG, we have a well-established track record of exploring and developing new creative and commercial opportunities that enable our artists, songwriters and labels to better connect with music fans. We believe that music has a more integral role in gaming and through this innovative new licensing agreement with TYGER, our artists and their music will now be able to soundtrack personalized gameplay experiences and connect with millions of gamers and fans around the world.”

Earlier this year, UMG also signed a licensing agreement with Spotify for AI remixing on the platform.

UMG CEO Lucian Grainge has been public about his sentiments toward artificial intelligence, telling Nvidia executive Richard Kerris on stage at Nvidia’s GTC AI conference in March that, so long as there are guardrails, the technology may prove useful to the music industry.

“[We are working on] product partners [in AI] that we’re going to be talking about in the next three, five, 10 years, and that’s [going to be] so powerful,” he said at the time. “That’s what’s so exciting, and for me, that’s what’s so inevitable [about AI in music].”