A Composer's Brain Creates New Music Years After Death

In a fascinating intersection of art and biotechnology, legendary composer Alvin Lucier, who passed away in 2021, is posthumously creating new music through lab-grown brain cells. 

As Leslie Katz from Forbes Magazine reports,

"Four years after he dies a computer lab grown brain drops new music." Katz (2025)

The installation, now on display in an Australian gallery, uses brain organoids to generate musical compositions. AI musicpreneur Christopher Weiduwilt breaks it down:

1. Brain cells make signals
   Tiny lab-grown brain bits from the composer create electricity
   
   
2. Signals become sound:
   ↳ Special equipment turns these signals into music
   
   
3. Sound plays through plates:
   ↳ Brass plates around the gallery vibrate.
   ↳ and make noise
   
   
4. Room noise gets captured:
   ↳ Microphones pick up all sounds in the space
   
   
5. Sound returns to cells:
   ↳ Brain cells "hear" the sounds
   ↳ And respond with new signals"

Wieduwilt, C. (2025, 04, 15)

The collaborating Australian artists, Guy Ben-Ary, Nathan Thompson, and Matt Gingold, explain their vision in a joint statement: "Our project aims to fundamentally reimagine artistic immortality by creating a living extension of Lucier's creative essence." Katz, L. (2025)

This groundbreaking project raises important legal and ethical questions. Current copyright law grants rights to estates after a creator's death, and that will vary from country to country. 

But how does this apply to new works generated by preserved brain cells? Should copyright laws be extended or modified? Wieduwilt, C. (2025, para. 7) Do we need superior court rulings to clarify when the copyright clock starts ticking?

While I believe estate owners should retain rights to these posthumous creations, this unprecedented territory requires careful legal consideration and documentation. As we venture into this new frontier of artistic creation, only time will reveal how we'll address these complex questions of ownership, responsibility, and creative immortality.
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References:
Katz, L. (2025) Four Years After He Died, A Composer’s Lab-Grown Brain Drops New Music, Forbes,  https://www.forbes.com/sites/lesliekatz/2025/04/14/dead-composer-creates-new-music-through-a-lab-grown-brain/

Wieduwilt, C. (2025, 04, 15).A dead man’s brain is making music.
And no one knows who should control it....https://www.linkedin.com/posts/christopherwieduwilt_a-dead-mans-brain-is-making-music-activity-7317872073572335617-EqEg?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAKbiqkBImZbDtpOvc1z0r9iylULb6YW4og

Wieduwilt, C. (2025) Dead composer’s brain cells are making new music in 2025 — and nobody knows how to regulate it, The AI Musicpreneur, https://www.aimusicpreneur.com/ai-music-news/alvin-lucier-revivifaction-regulation/)