Google gives Gemini the ability to make AI-generated music

There are currently concerns online over what Lyria 3 was trained on to create music. Speaking about the nature of the model’s training, a representative told Billboard that it is “mindful of copyright and partner agreements”. They said Lyria 3 only trains on music that YouTube and Google have “a right to use under our terms of service, partner agreements, and applicable law”.

Google just added Lyria, its music generator, to Gemini.

What was it trained on? They haven’t said.

They say they have been ‘mindful of copyright’. What does this mean?! It sounds worryingly like intentional misdirection.

You should assume it’s trained on copyrighted work… pic.twitter.com/0ceawY9K7u

— Ed Newton-Rex (@ednewtonrex) February 18, 2026

On X/Twitter, one person said this “sounds worryingly like intentional misdirection”, adding: “You should assume it’s trained on copyrighted work without a licence unless they come out and say it’s not.”

You can find more information on the new model here.

Google launched its Project Genie creation tool last month, which has seen users rip off hit games like The Legend Of Zelda, Mario and Grand Theft Auto.

Earlier this month, Oliver Schusser, Apple Music’s Vice President, said the platform had demonetised two billion “fraudulent” music streams worth around $17million in royalties last year (via MixMag).

Deezer recently announced that it has demonetised 85 per cent of all AI-generated tracks on its site using an AI-detection tool – which it is now making commercially available for others to purchase. Last September, Deezer said 28 per cent of music uploaded to the platform was fully AI-generated.

Bandcamp has banned all AI-created tracks, too, saying: “We reserve the right to remove any music on suspicion of being AI-generated.”

A study later found that 97 per cent of people “can’t tell the difference” between real and AI music. In late 2024, another study warned that people working in music were likely to lose a quarter of their income to AI over the next four years.

Last month, a song that had earned millions of streams in Sweden was banned from music charts in the country because it was created by AI. A soul “musician”, Sienna Rose, later made headlines amid suspicion that her music is a product of artificial intelligence. She had gained 2.6million monthly listeners on the app, with three of her songs entering Spotify’s Viral 50 playlist.

Spotify confirmed that it was cracking down on AI by removing 75million “spammy tracks” and targeting impersonators last autumn. This followed a report claiming that AI-generated songs were being uploaded to dead musicians’ Spotify profiles without permission. Last month, Spotify Cardiff rock outfit Holding Absence hit out at an AI ‘band’ that had overtaken their streaming figures on Spotify in September 2025.

Over the summer, an AI-generated ‘band’ called The Velvet Sundown made headlines after gaining around 400,000 monthly Spotify listeners – despite only existing for less than a month. A ‘spokesperson’ for the viral act later admitted that he was running a hoax aimed at “the media”.

Paul McCartney, Kate Bush and Elton John are among the major British artists to have urged Keir Starmer to protect the work of creatives. This came after the Prime Minister told NME: “It’s very important we protect creativity, and we’re brilliant at creativity in this country – we punch well above our weight within the country and globally, and we’re all very proud of that.

“We need to get the balance right. That’s why we did a long and important consultation, and we’re going through the responses of that consultation now. So it is a question of getting the balance right.”

His comments followed a call on the UK government from various big acts to change copyright laws to combat AI tech as it progresses rapidly. Elton John claimed in January 2025 that artificial intelligence would “dilute and threaten young artists’ earnings”, while backing criticism from McCartney.