Universal Music Group has struck a landmark licensing partnership with AI-powered social music platform Hook, which lets fans remix and share songs using official recordings.
The deal is designed to turn social music engagement into a new revenue stream for artists and rightsholders.
Using AI-powered tools, fans can remix songs across genres and moods, creating original versions and sharing them to social media.
Since launching in 2025, Hook has worked directly with right-holders to ensure artists retain ownership, control and monetisation. Unlike generative AI platforms, Hook does not generate new tracks. Instead, it enables fans to create user-generated content (UGC) with licensed music from their favourite artists.
Together, UMG and Hook say they have "built the licensing framework and artist controls needed to monetise fan creativity at greater scale".
"Every creation is licensed, attributed and tracked, so artists and rightsholders benefit both when fans create with their music and when those creations are shared across social platforms," said the announcement.
UMG artists and rightsholders decide which songs are available for creation or community features, which creative experiences fans can use, and where the resulting content can be shared. Individual experiences such as remixes, sound effects, or video clipping can be switched on or off.
"We believe the biggest consumer use case for music creation isn't making original songs that compete with artists," said Gaurav Sharma, Hook founder and CEO. "It's about expressing yourself through the artists and songs you love while participating in the communities and culture they inspire. We spent the past two years working with UMG's incredible labels and artists to figure out how to make that possible in a way that empowers artists and rightsholders."
The Hook team have developed a dynamic, groundbreaking platform that respects artists and strengthens the music ecosystem
Michael Nash, UMG
The deal caps two years of close collaboration with UMG and its global network of labels including Republic Records, Capitol Records, Mavin and Virgin Music Group to create more than 30 artist campaigns across new releases, remixes, and social fan activations.
“Streaming has transformed how fans listen to music," said Michael Nash, EVP & chief digital officer, UMG. "Licensed fan creativity is an important part of the next chapter, combining artist control with responsible technology and new ways to create value.
"Gaurav and the Hook team have developed a dynamic, groundbreaking platform that respects artists and strengthens the music ecosystem. It’s exactly the kind of innovation we want to help lead."
Back in February, Hook raised $10 million in a Series A funding round. It was led by Khosla Ventures with participation from existing investors Point72 Ventures, Imaginary Ventures and Waverley Capital, co-founded by former Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr.
Existing investors across the music ecosystem include Kygo’s Palm Tree Crew, Three Six Zero, Avex, The Raine Group and DJ Kshmr. The round brings Hook’s total funding to $16 million.
"For too long, this industry has been asked to accept a false choice: that innovation in music must come at the expense of the people who make it. It never had to," said Edgar Bronfman Jr., investor in Hook. "The technologies that endure in music are the ones that deepen the connection between artists and their audiences, not the ones that exploit it. Hook was built on that conviction from its first day."
