Image credit: Andrea De Santis

AI poses an existential threat to the music industry as algorithms drive streams and AI-generated music becomes more convincing by the day.

Musicians are concerned: The brilliance of AI (artificial intelligence) can never shake the shadow of concern over what it means for human creation. Particularly when it comes to art; but what does it mean for the artists?

Our music industry has transformed in the last two decades into a digital one. This has resulted in music streaming becoming the biggest revenue earner for music consumption worldwide and the go-to for listeners.

We’ve seen AI slowly creep towards music platforms in recent years. The tracks and artists we’re presented on music streaming services are often powered by algorithms. This has been largely supported, with recommendations boosting artist visibility and working to listeners’ benefit. On the other hand, we’ve seen eerily accurate reproductions of singers’ vocals and increasingly convincing compositions produced and recorded by machines.

As visual artists fight a battle against the threat of programs like DALL-E the music industry is gearing up to face down AI music. As with other AI, DALL-E learns its processes through the analysing of existing work. The good news is that (it seems) the music industry are in a position to set up boundaries before it proliferates the way that generated visual art has.

Music industry lays down the law for AI

In September, musicians took their concerns to the politicians in the US. A mass demonstration at Capitol Hill saw creators from around the country gathering to send a message.

As a result, the ASCAP-led event raised awareness of what they have outlined as their “six key, creator centric principles”. These aims focus on prioritising human creation and creating a transparent industry wherever AI is involved, that ensures humans are either placed first or are compensated.

Now the Independent Music Publishers International Forum have set out their very own “ethical principles” in response to AI. The authors have aimed these guidelines at the developers of artificial intelligence programs with the support of 200 independent music publishing companies worldwide.

You can read their full list of Ethical Guidelines with in-depth descriptions of exactly what they mean for artists here. Here’s an overview:

  1. Seeking express permission for the use of music in the machine training process
  2. Keeping records of the musical works used in the machine training process
  3. Labelling of purely AI generated musical works
  4. Differentiate between purely AI generated musical works and human assisted AI works

They add, in conclusion: “The protection of human writers’ copyright and livelihood should be explicitly acknowledged and provided for in any AI related activities; commercial negotiations or legislative initiatives. Applying generative AI should be based on principles of legality, accountability, and transparency.”

Is it too late for the music industry?

However, it’s a hard battle to win when AI is advancing every single day; some believe it may even be too late. Discussing the similar case of visual artists fighting AI programs using their art to learn from, law professor Daniel Gervais said: “The past? It’s done – most of it, anyway.”

What he means is that these programs have already trawled so much of the content out there. These programs have learned from a vast, publicly available database and unlearning from a specific work of art in retrospect is unfeasible.

Yet, we must fight the fight all the same. The future of AI in the music industry is still unwritten and we can still influence its outcome. These programs may already have people’s work in its database to influence its output, but that doesn’t mean that these programs need to be in a place where they can threaten human creation.

The Human Artistry Campaign is cross-industry campaign group also working to protect the rights of human artistry. You can register to show your support and sign their petition to raise awareness here.

How do you feel about the battle waged between creators and AI? On which side do you stand and why? Let us know in the comments below.