Turmoil in the Music World: "AI Artists are Stirring Trouble"
"Music Industry Could Delve Deeper into Underground Depths"
In today's digital era, AI-produced songs are swamping streaming platforms, often on the backs of hardworking musicians who aren't adequately compensated. The musical community cries out for fairness and transparency.
AI-crafted music, vocals, and instruments: The ease of creating complete music at the touch of a button is possible thanks to specialized providers. However, the devil's in the details—these AI models are based on works by human artists, without their approval.
Deezer, a popular streaming service, receives a staggering 20,000 AI-created songs daily, as announced in April. While these creations may not match the quality of human-curated tunes, it's the sheer volume of music cluttering the platforms that worries British singer Levina, who chairs a council of musicians fighting for their rights in her adopted homeland. "And when so much of it is AI-generated, it makes it more difficult to stand out," she laments.
"That's Simply Unfair!"
Most musicians wouldn't outright denounce the use of AI, says Christopher Annen of the musicians' union Pro Musik. AI can provide novel perspectives, which musicians can subsequently play themselves. But the discomfort comes when companies make millions from AI apps while leaving artists high and dry. "That's simply unfair," says Annen, a member of AnnenMayKantereit.
The unequal distribution of earnings has long been a concern for musicians. AI is merely a catalyst for a long-simmering issue, says Matthias Hornschuh of the "Copyright Initiative." Today's dominant streaming services have been seeing earnings slip away from the majority for some time. A study funded by the German government backs this up with hard numbers: in 2023, 75 percent of all streaming service revenues went to only 0.1 percent of artists.
The German collecting society GEMA fears that AI might worsen the circumstances. Representing copyrights for some 95,000 members in the German music industry, GEMA predicts that 27 percent of authors' earnings are at risk, a potential loss of over 2.7 billion euros by 2028 in Germany and France.
AI Plagiarism: Battle over Helene Fischer and "Mambo No. 5"?
GEMA has decided to take legal action to safeguard these earnings. Since last year, it has pursued legal action against OpenAI, the provider of ChatGPT. In January, it filed a lawsuit against the US company Suno, whose AI program has almost perfectly replicated real songs. GEMA demonstrates this with popular numbers like "Breathless Through the Night" by Helene Fischer or "Mambo No. 5" by Lou Bega—in GEMA's view, clear evidence that the company trained its AI with these songs, thus infringing on the rights of the artists.
Lament of the Lyricist: Hornschuh believes music lyricists and composers heavily rely on GEMA payments. Therefore, AI providers should fulfill their duty and pay them, a decision that would also be in the interest of these companies since they require fresh human-created music to feed their AI models.
Cry for Transparency: Artists demand to know what's happening behind the scenes and how much money flows to whom. They also want streaming services to indicate which music is AI-generated.
However, Annen sees one thing AI can't replicate: emotions. Listening to music can make one feel less isolated, as another human has experienced the same emotions. A song entirely created by a machine can't evoke these emotions, says Annen. "AI didn't have a broken heart."
Source: ntv.de, Niklas Graeber/dpa
- Germany
- Music
- Digital Music
- OpenAI
Further Reading:
- The Recording Academy Issues Statement on AI and Music: "Preventing the Exploitation of Artists"
- Copyright Conundrums: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Music
Enrichment Insights Sparingly Incorporated:
- The NO FAKES Act aims to protect artists by holding individuals and companies liable for distributing unauthorized digital replicas of an individual's voice or visual likeness, crucial as AI can create fake cover songs without permission, depriving artists of rightful compensation.
- Artists are using AI to streamline production tasks such as mixing and mastering and generating demos, allowing them to focus more on creativity while saving time and resources.
- There is growing concern that AI-generated music could significantly cut artists' incomes, potentially reducing them by a quarter within a few years, leading to significant financial losses for artists and the music industry as a whole.
- The music industry is divided between those who see AI as an innovative tool and those who are concerned about its impact on creators' rights and income; striking a balance between these perspectives is essential for future legislation and industry practices.
- The need for clearer regulations on AI-generated music is recognized, with policymakers urged to create legislation that protects creators while allowing for innovative uses of AI in music production.
- The musicians' union Pro Musik, represented by Christopher Annen, advocates for fair compensation for artists in the digital era, where AI-generated music is increasingly prevalent.
- Finance remains a contentious issue in the music industry, with artists concerned about the unequal distribution of earnings, exacerbated by the rise of AI-generated music.
- Within the entertainment industry, music lyricists and composers heavily rely on GEMA payments, and AI providers should fulfill their duty to compensate them for using their work to train AI models.
