Tag Archives: ai legislation and music

The Future of AI and Music: Democratizing Creation While Protecting Rights

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The rapid advancement of AI has sparked vigorous debate about its impact on the music industry. While some see its generative capabilities as threatening, I believe AI presents opportunities to empower artists and to help them connect with fans in new ways. However, protections must be in place to safeguard artists’ rights.

As an independent artist myself, I’m excited by AI’s potential to democratize music creation. Emergent tools can help artists expand our sound palettes and reach a wider fan base typically only accessible by artists signed to major labels. Rights holders like Universal Music Group (UMG) stand to profit too by licensing their catalogs. But they must ensure fair revenue sharing so independent artists thrive. UMG is working with Google owned YouTube and its new Content ID software to responsibly make its vast catalog available to independent artists through its new text-to-music software, MusicLM.

AI-generated content also exposes risks if platforms don’t protect artists’ rights. Musicians should control where and how their work is used. Services like YouTube must expand copyright protections and give us tools to manage AI use of our catalogs.

I recently shared some of my own experimentation with AI music generators on the Human Driven AI podcast. This conversation includes music samples and the prompts used to create them, as well as discussions around the opportunities and limitations of AI music generators.

The music industry weathered disruption from Napster by ultimately embracing change. With care and vision, AI can fuel a new creative renaissance. As an independent artist, I’m cautiously optimistic about collaborating with AI in ways that are artist-empowering. But we must stay vigilant in safeguarding our rights and artistic intentions.

What opportunities or risks do you see AI presenting for the music industry? I welcome perspectives from fellow artists as we navigate this unfolding technology together. There are challenges ahead but also much potential for creative innovation. By joining in constructive dialogue, we can shape an AI-powered future that serves all artists.

Protect Working Musicians Act

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As an independent musician, I’m excited to learn about new legislation introduced by Representative Deborah Ross that will support the rights of artists like myself. The revised Protect Working Musicians Act (PWMA) aims to give independent artists more bargaining power when negotiating with major streaming platforms and AI developers. According to congress.gov, “This bill allows certain individual music creator owners to collectively negotiate music licensing terms with dominant online music distribution platforms. Individual music creator owners include musicians, producers, and technicians who own the copyright to a recording and either (1) earned less than $1 million in associated revenues during the prior year, or (2) qualify as a record production and distribution small business”.

For too long, independent artists have struggled to earn a fair wage from streaming services like Spotify. The market dominance of these tech giants makes it incredibly difficult for small artists to negotiate fair rates. This bill would allow indie artists to join together and collectively bargain for better compensation. No longer could Spotify or Apple Music ignore the demands of independent creators.

The explosion of AI music applications poses similar problems. Many AI companies use music without proper licensing or compensation. By banding together, independent artists could ensure our work is not exploited by unregulated AI. This technology holds great promise, but progress should not come at the expense of creative professionals.

As both a musician and composer, I understand we must embrace new innovations. But as we pave the road ahead, we cannot leave independent artists behind. Organizations like the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) and Artist Rights Alliance (ARA) are right to endorse this legislation. I encourage all artists and music lovers to add their voices in support as well. Please consider joining these organizations and supporting this legislation.

The future brings many wonders, but music will always be created by human performers, composers, and technicians. Our art and livelihoods must be protected. I applaud Representative Ross for introducing a bill that defends the rights of working musicians. Let’s work together to see it passed into law.