– Wits University
New paper presents a new legal and commercial framework for AI-generated music.
Generative AI models create music through the large-scale ingestion of copyrighted works to produce new audio, melodies, lyrics and vocal likeness. They also distribute music through licensed, data-driven personalised listening experiences. New AI-systems are evolving faster than existing legal and technical infrastructures can adapt, backed by powerful investors and integrated into global consumer platforms. How, then, can AI platforms and the music industry co-exist without ending up in the courtrooms?
A new paper by Wits alumnus Charles Goldstuck, published on the Social Science Research Network takes the position that if copyright law, case law evolution and public policy do not evolve to accommodate the structural changes posed by AI music, the creative economy will be absorbed into an opaque, unregulated system in which human authorship is significantly devalued.
DOWNLOAD THE PAPER: PAST PRECEDENT, FUTURE PROOF: TOWARD A NEW LEGAL AND COMMERCIAL FRAMEWORK FOR AI-GENERATED MUSIC
“The task ahead is not to resist AI, but to ensure that it evolves within a multi-stakeholder governance framework that protects creative labour, enables innovation and scales with the velocity of the disruption. AI services and human content creators must coexist and both be allowed to thrive,” says the author of the paper, Charles Goldstuck, a trailblazer in the global music industry, and a PhD candidate at the University of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg. “This paper explains why we must find a mutually beneficial path forward in which the music industry and AI platforms resort to negotiated settlements and collaboratively develop new licensing agreements.”
This paper is a must-read for anyone interested in Generative AI in Music; Music Copyright Law; AI Copyright Litigation; Creative Economy Governance; Copyright Settlements and Licensing Frameworks.
Goldstuck adds: “It is important for the African music industry, artists and academics to take their seat at the global AI table so that the cultures and diversity of 1 billion people on the continent are aptly represented and remain at the forefront of this global discussion. This is just one way in which we are driving involvement from Africa in the global music industry.”
Another project supported by Goldstuck is the AI & African Music project which aims to build new futures for AI in music, shaped by African sounds, language and innovation. The project is hosted by the Wits Innovation Centre (WIC) in partnership with the Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute at Wits University.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.wits.ac.za ’
