SoundCloud requires opt-in consent before AI can train on uploads

The audio task

An artist uploading music to SoundCloud needs to know whether that upload can be used to train a generative AI system without permission, a distinct question from impersonation on the platform. SoundCloud's own current terms address both, with a specific consent mechanism for the training question.

What the documents show

SoundCloud's terms of use, as retrieved on 16 September 2026, state: “We will not use your content to train generative AI models that aim to replicate or synthesize your voice, music, or likeness without your explicit consent, which must be affirmatively provided through an opt-in mechanism.” The same terms separately prohibit using “artificial intelligence to impersonate a person (including a person's voice and likeness) without authorization,” and using content for “training [or] developing (or as input to) artificial intelligence technologies without authorization from the applicable rightsholders.” The terms note uploaders “can limit and restrict the availability of certain of your Content...using the permissions tab in the track edit section for each sound you upload.” SoundCloud's separate Community Guidelines repeat the impersonation rule under “Impersonation & Misleading Metadata,” stating users “cannot impersonate or misrepresent yourself as another person (including through artificial intelligence).” Neither document, as retrieved, states whether the opt-in requirement applies to content uploaded before the clause existed.

Rights status

SoundCloud states its own AI-training practice as consent-based: content is not used to train voice- or music-replicating generative models without the rightsholder's affirmative opt-in. This is SoundCloud's own operational commitment stated in its terms, not a court ruling or statute establishing a general right against unauthorized AI training. It is narrower than a blanket prohibition, naming training aimed at replicating “your voice, music, or likeness” specifically, and it sits alongside a separate, general prohibition on AI-driven impersonation.

What to check before you use it

This is an editorial checklist. Before assuming an upload is protected from AI training: locate the opt-in control itself in the account or track permissions tab, since the terms describe the option as affirmative rather than default; treat the question of retroactive coverage as unresolved, since the terms are silent on content uploaded before the clause existed; and re-read the current terms periodically, since a living document like this can be revised without individual notice.

• Has explicit opt-in consent been given or withheld for this account's content regarding AI training?
• Does the current terms of use, checked directly, still contain the same opt-in language described here?
• Would a specific AI-assisted element fall under the impersonation prohibition rather than the training clause?

The opt-in clause is a platform commitment stated in a living contract, useful as a documented position but not equivalent to a guarantee independent of SoundCloud continuing to honor and enforce it.