The music industry has shown significant resistance to adopting artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. In this post, I will explore two primary reasons behind this resistance, although it is important to note that these reasons are not exhaustive or universally applicable to all situations.
Reason 1
The first one is the non-collaborative and combative approach taken by tech companies imposed on musicians without consent. They (tech companies) assume that because music is public it is free.
This is false.
Historically, music has been public through radio and visual broadcasting and live music performances, and against copyright laws to record or re-broadcast content without permission. Other than copyright exceptions like Fair Dealing and Education, there has never been a loophole to allow third parties to use music in a way that would create another profitable use without consent from copyright owners.
Music streaming is no different. Despite it being a modern format for music distribution, it operates under the same legal context as traditional music distribution methods. As such, the same rules apply. And to be clear, the Fair Dealing exception, a copyright law provision allowing for limited use of copyrighted material without permission (e.g., research, journalistic pursuits, private study, criticism), does not apply to companies training their large language models (LLMs) using music made available to the public. Permission is required.
Reason 2
Many AI tools have been marketed as an easy way to create and compose music, which can be seen as devaluing the countless hours musicians have dedicated to honing their skills and developing their craft. Some of these marketing campaigns even suggest that users can earn royalties from music generated with just a few clicks, ignoring the years of hard work and expertise that go into creating high-quality, original music..
While it is true that anyone can purchase a subscription, call themselves a prompt engineer and write a song, created using a text prompt, there’s absolutely no way that a “wanna be” composer/songwriter will ever...ever... experience the same feeling of joy that comes from many years of dedication.
To suggest otherwise would be false.
These two reasons, in my professional opinion, have created a toxic and combative environment between musicians and tech companies.
Of course, I’m not here to derail or dismiss the use of artificial intelligence.
There are valid use cases to incorporate artificial intelligence into day-to-day music production workflows. And musicians can leverage the technology to streamline their creative day-to-day work.
In last week's post, I provided some examples.
Disclaimer: I am not providing legal advice. For any questions that deal with complex, legal matters, consult with a qualified attorney.