Google's DeepMind and YouTube develop AI music tool Orca but shelve it over copyright issues

Google's DeepMind and YouTube developed an AI music tool called Orca, which could create songs mimicking various artists. However, copyright issues led to its shelving last year after Google sought to release it but faced legal risks from music labels. Orca allowed users to generate music by inputting prompts like artist names and lyrics. Despite its potential, Google decided against releasing it due to concerns over copyright infringement, which contradicted its previous policy of avoiding copyrighted material for AI training. In November 2023, DeepMind introduced a simpler version called Lyria, which can generate music using the styles of select artists who collaborated with Google. Some employees from the Orca project later left to start a new AI music app called Udio.