Online music production marketplace BeatStars has partnered with AI protection startup Sureel to prevent unauthorized artificial intelligence systems from training on its catalog of beats and songs.
Under the agreement, Sureel will register BeatStars‘ entire marketplace catalog in its database, which AI companies can check against to see which tracks they’re prohibited from using when training data.
Sureel will also provide a dashboard for BeatStars and its creators showing which AI models have attempted to train on protected content.
Founded by Dr. Tamay Aykut, former visiting assistant Professor at Stanford, Sureel says it provides “cutting-edge solutions based on explainable AI to help creators retain full control and monetize their intellectual property amid the complexities of AI-generated content.”
The agreement also includes an invitation-only portal and API that approved AI developers can use to verify which tracks on the BeatStars platform have been opted out of AI training.
The partnership comes amid increasing legal battles between content owners and AI developers. Over the past year, major music companies have sued AI firms Suno and Udio for allegedly training their systems using the majors’ recordings without permission. The AI startups pretty much admitted to the accusations in court filings in August last year, but argued that it’s “fair use” to train AI models on copyrighted content.
“This partnership… shows the rest of the industry what responsible AI collaboration looks like.”
Dr. Tamay Aykut, Sureel
“We recognize that some AI companies might not respect intellectual property, so we are taking definitive action to ensure our community’s work remains protected and valued. Ethical AI is the future, and we’re leading the charge in making sure creators are not left behind,” said Abe Batshon, CEO of BeatStars, adding that the partnership with Sureel “is an extension of our longstanding commitment to put creators first.”
In June last year, BeatStars said it had paid out $325 million to creators who license and sell beats and sounds via its platform since its launch in 2009. As MBW previously reported, BeatStars has been the source of samples for hits like Old Town Road by Lil Nas X, and Whoopty by CJ.
“BeatStars isn’t just a marketplace — it’s one of the most important creator communities in the world,” said Dr. Aykut, who serves as CEO of Sureel.
“They’ve built their platform around trust, transparency, and putting artists in control. That’s exactly the type of environment where our technology belongs. This partnership proves you can scale innovation and ethics together — and shows the rest of the industry what responsible AI collaboration looks like.”
Music Business Worldwide
