How NewTune Joins DDEX: The First Korean Company Tackling AI Music Copyright Challenges

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AI music‑tech startup NewTune has become the first South Korean company to join DDEX, the global organization that sets standards for digital music data. As generative AI spreads and debates over copyright and payment systems grow louder, the firm’s direct involvement in global standard‑setting has attracted attention.

NewTune announced on May 14 that it had joined DDEX.

DDEX is an international body created to standardize the metadata formats and distribution workflows used by major platforms such as Spotify and YouTube. In the digital music ecosystem, it functions as core infrastructure, automatically linking track registrations, rights information, and payment data.

Production of generative‑AI music has surged, prompting fast‑moving industry discussions about how to handle distribution, rights tracking, and revenue sharing for AI‑generated works. With remixes, sampling and multi‑creator pieces on the rise, experts say existing copyright frameworks often cannot untangle complex rights relationships.

As a DDEX member, NewTune plans to join conversations about standards for rights tracking and payment data needed in the AI‑music era. The company says its emphasis is less on standalone music‑generation tools and more on modernizing the music industry’s existing structures.

Its flagship technology, called AI Attribution, evaluates the contribution of each source track to derivative works and automatically designs revenue‑sharing schemes based on those contributions.

Today, settlements involving sampling or multi‑mix content are frequently complex and prolonged. Because rights relationships often require manual verification, payouts can take months to complete.

NewTune is focused on automating that process through AI‑driven data tracking and shifting to real‑time settlement. The company’s stated goal is to protect creators’ rights while enabling listeners and artists to rework material freely.

Industry observers note that although the AI music market is expanding quickly, there is still no global consensus on rights frameworks or revenue‑sharing standards. Legal disputes over the use of training data and the copyright status of AI‑generated tracks are ongoing in the U.S. and Europe.

Lee Jong‑pil, NewTune’s CEO, said, “The AI era will inevitably accelerate both creation and re‑creation. Infrastructure that transparently records whose contributions were used and settles payments accordingly will become essential.”

NewTune is also accelerating its global outreach. After joining DDEX, the company has signed on with the Music Business Association and A2IM. It plans to expand partnerships across the global music industry and promote international adoption of its AI Attribution technology.

Still, the AI music sector remains in an early stage of rapid institutional and market change. As platforms, labels and creators’ groups begin negotiating interests in earnest, competition over data standards and rights frameworks is likely to intensify.