Over 200 musicians, including Billie Eilish and Katy Perry, have signed an open letter urging tech companies and developers to refrain from using AI to devalue human artists’ rights.
The letter highlights concerns such as replicating artists’ voices, using their work to train AI models without compensation and diluting royalty pools.
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The Artist Rights Alliance emphasised a call for a responsible marketplace, focusing on maintaining the quality of music and preserving human creativity.
The signatories include artists from various genres and backgrounds, illustrating a broad consensus within the music industry.
While acknowledging the potential of AI to enhance creativity when used responsibly, the letter warns against its misuse, which could harm artists’ livelihoods and the music ecosystem.
Efforts to protect artists from AI-related issues include advocacy for legislative measures like the No AI FRAUD Act and state-level bills such as the Elvis Act in Tennessee.
The open letter states that AI poses significant threats to privacy, identities, music, and livelihoods when used irresponsibly, as it can be exploited without permission to train models and generate content.
Historical trends of technological advancements, such as file-sharing and streaming, have often disadvantaged musicians in terms of fair compensation.
The letter resonates with similar concerns expressed by authors regarding generative AI (GenAI), highlighting a broader sentiment across creative industries.
GenAI has prompted multiple copyright lawsuits, beginning with various authors filing lawsuits against OpenAI in July 2023.
Despite these concerns, the effectiveness of legal recourse against GenAI remains limited due to existing copyright laws’ inadequacy in addressing such technologies.
Research and analysis company GlobalData forecasts that GenAI will be at the forefront of businesses’ AI growth and adoption, with generative AI revenues expected to exceed $33bn worldwide by 2027.
