Grammys Sparks Debate on Copyright Issues with Ban on AI Music, Discord Caught in Controversy
Whenever a new technology with broad applications arises, the music industry is among the first to bear the brunt. Whether it’s the advent of compact discs, MP3 players, or websites enabling song streaming and hosting, the music industry consistently faces the repercussions and voices its dissent. The primary cause for concern? Copyright problems. Music stands as one of the most susceptible forms of intellectual property, as it can be effortlessly pirated, stolen, altered, and repackaged, diverting earnings away from both artists and record labels.
But so far, the industry has always been able to get laws and regulations on its side to counter all threats. Illegal songs were declared illegal, music players can only show official sources to stream/download songs, and music sites have to pay artists and label their fees. However, when artificial intelligence enters the scene, things become quite complicated.
The problem with AI-generated music
Arguably, EDM or electronic dance music is also created by computers, so AI music should not get particles. However, there is a clear difference between the two. Although EDM is computer generated sound, the ultimate creativity comes from the human creating original music using technology.
On the other hand, an AI capable of producing music is likely to have been trained on copyrighted material. This claim comes from the fact that most AI-based music generation platforms are capable of receiving commands such as “write music in the style of Taylor Swift”. So to understand Taylor Swift’s singing style, it needs to be trained on this information.
So the crux of the issue is this: If a user creates a song with a popular artist’s voice that goes viral and the user makes money from it as a result, is the user violating copyright laws or not? The answer is not very straightforward, because even though the sound itself cannot be protected by copyright, using their name or playing a song as coming from them is a clear violation of copyright law. This is at least the position of the music industry.
Frighteningly, this situation is not just a theoretical problem to solve. It’s already causing problems in the real world.
Controversy surrounds “Heart On My Sleeve,” an AI song
Titled Heart On My Sleeve, the song was posted online anonymously and went viral on the TikTok and YouTube platforms. The song featured the voices of Drake and The Weeknd, but it wasn’t really their voices. The song was created with artificial intelligence that imitated the artist’s voice.
Soon all music streaming platforms pulled the song. But by then, it had already been streamed 600,000 times on Spotify and racked up 15 million views on TikTok. It cannot be verified if any users made money from these streams, but most platforms would have canceled all payments after the song was removed.
RIAA follows Discord
However, the situation has outraged the entire music industry, and organizations want regulators to stop the AI music generation’s actions, where the song resembles a human artist.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has gone so far as to claim it as copyright infringement and now wants to take down the Discord server associated with the production of such AI models. According to a report by QZ , “The RIAA has asked Discord to shut down a server called ‘AI Hub,’ alleging that its approximately 145,000 members share and share copyrighted music.
In its lawsuit, the RIAA has also demanded that Discord share the names, phone numbers, addresses and other information of AI Hub users who participated in the creation of the songs. However, Discord has not taken any action. It still has until June 30 to either fulfill or formally reject the requirement.
Grammy awards have also been given against artificial intelligence
The Grammy Awards are one of the biggest music awards on the planet. Every year during that event, impressive music is rewarded. This year, however, the Grammys have a special rule that keeps AI at bay. Only human creators can be selected, nominated to receive or win a Grammy Award.
According to a report by TechRadar, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason, Jr. told Grammys.com last week, “At this point we allow submissions of AI music and content, but the Grammys will only go to human creators who have made creative contributions in the appropriate categories.”
The EU recognizes the problem
This issue of AI copyright infringement, whether in training or production, is not something that only the music industry is concerned about. The EU AI Act, an amended version of previously written legislation to formulate rules and regulations for AI, has also made specific provisions for copyright infringement.
The Guardian’s report highlights that the legislation requires “AI chatbot developers to publish all the work of scientists, musicians, illustrators, photographers and journalists they have trained. They must also prove that everything they did to train the machine was legal.”
The future of music
Music has always been the most adaptable creative field whenever it was faced with technology that has the power to change how it works. And in the end it always comes out on top. But the journey to that point is definitely an uphill battle this time.
Legislators and governments will likely sit down in the coming months to find a way that balances the existence of AI-produced music without threatening the music industry. However, the process can take months or even years. And since there are already so many AI music generation platforms, expect more AI viral songs in the coming days.
Finally, on a rather interesting note, it seems that not everyone in the music industry feels threatened by the sudden rise of artificial intelligence. In fact, some even find ways to live with it.
After dropping Heart On My Sleeve, Canadian musician Claire Elise Boucher, professionally known as Grimes, took to Twitter and said: “I will share 50% of the royalties from any successful AI-generated songs that use my voice. Same deal as any artist I work with. You can free to use my voice without penalty. I have no brand and no legal obligations.”
“I think it’s cool to be fused with a machine, and I like the idea of open sourcing all art and killing copyright,” he added.
