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AI is coming for us all \u2014 including our music.<\/p>\n
A new investigation by The Atlantic<\/em> has uncovered millions of Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand musical works stolen as part of four \u201cgiant datasets of songs that are being shared within the AI-development community.\u201d<\/p>\n The US publication\u2019s AI Watchdog<\/a> tool allows anyone to look up an artist and see exactly which of their songs have been fed into AI training systems without consent, without a licence, and without payment.<\/p>\n According to APRA AMCOS, some of the biggest names in Australian and New Zealand music are implicated.<\/p>\n From New Zealand, Bic Runga<\/a>, Marlon Williams<\/a>, Six60, Dave Dobbyn, Stan Walker, Split Enz, Lorde<\/a>, Aldous Harding, Kaylee Bell, Ch\u00e9 Fu, and more are included.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are early findings from a search that will take days to complete. The full picture will be larger still,\u201d APRA AMCOS states.<\/p>\n \u201cMidnight Oil. Sia. Crowded House. Lorde. Yothu Yindi. This week, AI companies are asking the Australian and New Zealand Governments for a copyright carve-out. This week, we can show you exactly what they have already taken. No permission. No licence. No payment. These are not bargaining chips, they are the life\u2019s work of Australian and New Zealand songwriters,\u201d APRA AMCOS Chief Executive Dean Ormston says.<\/p>\n Get your daily dose of everything happening in Australian\/New Zealand music and globally.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Dame Hinewehi Mohi DNZM, Manukura Puoro M\u0101ori\/Director of M\u0101ori Membership APRA AMCOS, adds: \u201cThe theft of our music strikes at the very heart of our identity and cultural heritage. Once taken, its integrity cannot truly be restored.<\/p>\n \u201cThrough the indiscriminate scraping of AI systems, our music is stripped of its context, distilled, diluted, and disconnected from its origins. This erasure cuts deeply into the essence of who I am, not only as a creator and advocate for local music, but as an Indigenous person whose culture, stories, and identity are woven into every note.\u201d<\/p>\n According to APRA AMCOS\u2019s recent \u2018AI and Music Report\u2019, ANZ songwriters and composers face a 23% revenue hit without a mandatory licensing framework. APRA AMCOS further reports that ANZ creators \u201cstand to miss out on more than $500 million over just four years.\u201d<\/p>\n New Zealand currently has no laws governing the use of AI in creative and commercial work, which Copyright Licensing NZ Chief Executive Sam Irvine recently flagged as an urgent matter.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have any AI law and we need it now,\u201d he said (as per 1News<\/em><\/a>).<\/p>\n The New Zealand Government did recently announce some changes to copyright law, which will reportedly give iconic Kiwi songs like \u201cI See Red\u201d by Split Enz and \u201cGutter Black\u201d by Hello Sailor extended copyright protection.<\/p>\n \u201cLast week, we announced a 20-year extension to copyright protection, keeping some of our most iconic works earning for the artists who created them,: Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Cameron Brewer said (as per the NZ Herald<\/em><\/a>).<\/p>\n \u201cNow we\u2019re going further with a set of changes that strengthen creators\u2019 rights and help safeguard our cultural treasures for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked specifically about AI, Brewer said he had been asked by Cabinet to draw up policy options.<\/p>\n \u201cCabinet has invited me to report back by 31 March 2027 on a possible copyright framework for generative AI in New Zealand. Issues around AI and copyright are complex, and different countries have taken various approaches,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nLove Music?<\/h2>\n