Step aside, Wish, Wonka and Waitress – the best musical story out there right now is OURS, as we continue to fight for fair use of our works.
The rise of generative AI technology is just the latest example of what feels like a lawless Wild West in need of a sheriff.
It was more than two decades ago when Metallica discovered their unreleased Mission: Impossible soundtrack song was leaked to radio through Napster. Lars Ulrich was mad and out for revenge. The subsequent legal battle paved the way for the paying streaming services that exist today.
What about when PETA sued on behalf of a monkey named Naruto for ownership of a selfie? That’s when the U.S. Copyright Office decided that a non-human cannot own a copyright.
Which leads us to the present day: machines are learning how to create new music by learning from our songs, but there are few rules in place about ownership. When does the fight begin?
Break out the Orville Redenbacher and let’s gooooo!
A few months ago, the U.S. Copyright Office launched an initiative to gather information on the subject of artificial intelligence. They issued a Notice of Inquiry (“NOI”) with specific questions asking for public comments on issues pertaining to AI and copyright, including songwriting.
The NOI is a pretty hefty read; but thankfully, members of SONA, BMAC (Black Music Actional Coalition), and MAC (Music Artists Coalition) worked together to submit a detailed and thoughtful response.
The chart below includes some of the highlights. It’s important to become familiar with the questions, because the answers are going to impact the law, and our earnings!
So grab a snack, check out the chart, and know that your peeps at SONA are working diligently for fairness and justice in the world of songwriting!
| NOTICE OF INQUIRY QUESTION | SONA’S RESPONSE (SUMMARY) |
| What are the benefits and risks of AI technology, and how will creators be affected? | AI can be a useful tool for creators to help generate or fine tune ideas, provide real-time feedback to creators, and lead to novel content, artistic expression and potentially a broader reach and audience for the creator. However, without proper tracking and licensing, our works will be illegally used, infringed upon, and become diluted and devalued. Now and in the future, songwriters will need: – Transparency with which copyrighted works AI is learning from – Direct Voluntary Licensing so creators may have a chance to negotiate the licensing of their works and benefit from AI learning – Federal protections against unauthorized use of personality traits (name, image, voice, likeness, etc.) |
| Should copyright owners be required to opt in or out of having their works used as training for AI? | SONA is emphatically against an “opt-out” system. The burden should be on the AI developers to obtain the affirmative consent and license from copyright owners or their designees for the use of their works (aka the creators’ ability to “opt-in” for the use of their works in AI). In an “opt-out” system, the creators will have the burden to make sure their works are not used in AI. |
| Would direct voluntary licensing be feasible for AI training on existing works? | YES – Similarly to how licensing works now with platforms like YouTube, TikTok, or Peloton. |
| Should Congress consider establishing a compulsory licensing regime? | NO, this will also dilute the value of our works – as creators, we best maximize the value of our works when we can negotiate in a free market. |
| Does the Copyright Act need to be revised to clarify a human-authorship requirement? | NO – the existing copyright law sufficiently covers what kind of work is copyrightable and what permissions are needed to use and exploit copyrighted works. |
| Should congress establish a new federal right that would apply to AI-generated material? | YES – we feel strongly that new federal legislation is needed to protect both the artist and consumer against deepfakes and other infringements on personality rights, which are extremely valuable intellectual property – especially in the music and entertainment industry where they are essential to the building of a personal brand. |
Read the full comments paper here.
Special thanks to Kristin Wenning from LaPolt Law for her expert insights on the SONA response.
Jeannie Lurie is an Emmy, Annie and Critics’ Choice Award nominated songwriter with 15+ years experience creating hundreds of songs for Disney, Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, and more.
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