Building the next chapter of creativity – with humans still in control

By Sara Börsvik, Interim CEO, Epidemic Sound

Most companies are talking about AI. Far fewer are willing to fundamentally change because of it.

Across industries, we’re seeing a pattern: AI is being layered on top of existing ways of working – faster tools, incremental gains – but not a real rethink of how products are built, how creativity happens, or how companies operate.

That approach won’t hold. Companies that aren’t AI-native are now facing a choice: adapt at pace, or risk becoming irrelevant.

At Epidemic Sound, we’ve made our choice and we’re putting it into action.

For nearly two decades, we’ve been part of a fundamental shift in how content is created and experienced, helping power a world where storytelling moves faster, reaches further, and becomes more accessible.

Now, that pace of change is accelerating again.

A new wave of AI-driven technology is reshaping not just how content is distributed, but how it is created. What once took hours can now take minutes. What once required teams can now be done by individuals. The expectations on creators and businesses alike are evolving rapidly. We are evolving with it.

We are moving from a company known for its world-class music catalog and licensing model into a broader creative platform – one that supports how content is created, iterated, and published in an AI-driven world.

But this evolution is not about replacing creativity with automation. It is about enhancing human creativity, while keeping humans firmly in control.

We believe the future of content creation will not be defined by AI alone, but by how AI is applied. The most powerful creative tools will be those that combine human creativity, trusted intellectual property, and intelligent technology.

This is where Epidemic Sound is uniquely positioned.

Because we own and control our own extensive catalog, we can give customers clear, transparent choice across a spectrum of original human-created music, AI-assisted adaptation, and, over time, new forms of generated sound—all within a single, trusted ecosystem. This means creators and businesses stay in control of how they create, with the flexibility to choose the right solution for each need, without compromising on quality, authenticity, transparency, or legal certainty

In a landscape where questions around ownership and rights are only becoming more complex, that matters.

We are among other companies undertaking a necessary transformation at pace and scale. And we believe that acting now puts us in a stronger position, not just to adapt to the future, but to help shape it.

This journey creates new opportunities to learn faster, to build new products, and to have a greater impact for our customers, our creators, and our partners.

However, recognising the need to transform how we operate, means difficult choices around how we need to work and are structured as a company, and this means we are proposing changes that affect around 150 roles across the organisation.

This is the hardest part of this journey. These decisions are not a reflection of the talent, dedication, or contribution of the people affected. They are a reflection of the structural changes required to build for the future. We are deeply grateful to everyone who has been part of Epidemic Sound’s journey and whose dedication and creativity have helped shape the company over the years. 

We are approaching this transition with care, transparency, and respect. Because while we are evolving how we work, our core belief remains unchanged: creativity is, and will always be, human at its core.

We are in the unique position to build the tools, the platform, and the ecosystem that allow that creativity to thrive – faster, at greater scale, and with more confidence than ever before.

This is the next chapter of Epidemic Sound.