AI or artificial intelligence hit the world like a tsunami just a few short years ago, and in the interim, has permeated the world of online creation. In the battle to preserve the rights of human music creators online, Universal Music Group has emerged as a force to be reckoned with.
It’s not surprising, given that UMC controls just under 36% of the market in the current music biz, including blockbuster pop artists like Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Adele.
Recently, UMC and electronic music instrument giant Roland Corporation launched a strategic relationship to establish best practices for a technology that is still in a state of flux.
Michael Nash, Chief Digital Officer, EVP at Universal Music Group said in a statement, “At UMG, we have long recognized and embraced the potential of AI to enhance and amplify human creativity, advance musical innovation, and expand the realms of audio production and sound technology. This can only happen if it is applied ethically and responsibly across the entire industry. We are delighted to collaborate with Roland, to explore new opportunities in this area together, while helping to galvanize consensus among key stakeholders across music’s creative community to promote adoption of these core principles with the goal of ensuring human creativity continues to thrive alongside the evolution of new technology.”
The initiative is stated to have the interests of music artists at its heart, and has begun by defining a series of principles. It states:
“By adopting these principles, companies and organizations commit to protecting the vital contributions of human creativity and to the responsible development and application of artificial intelligence for music creation.”
Principles For Music Creation With AI
- Music is central to what is is to be a human being, and affects overall health and well-being. It connects us to our world on a personal and intimate level.
- Music and humankind are bound together, and “music with true meaning cannot exist without the direct creative contributions of people”.
- AI can become a sustainable part of human creation, in the same way that acoustic and electronic instruments already are.
- Only works created by human beings merit copyright protection. That means:
- Any use of an artist’s name, image or likeness, or voice should require advance authorization;
- Music artists should be recognized for any such contributions.
- Transparency is key: AI can’t be a hidden force that operates behind the scenes, and that applies to all stakeholders from the creators to the fans;
- Record keeping, disclosure & recognition of the human creators are the watchwords.
- AI-based initiatives should not be created or even planned without the input of music artists from songwriters to producers and others.
Naoshi Fujikura, President & CEO, Universal Music Japan said, “Japan has a unique history of pioneering cutting-edge technology that has played a huge role in shaping music culture globally. I see similar opportunities with generative AI, provided we start from a foundation of protecting human creativity and securing the interests of our artists. I hope that together with Roland, we can build upon our legacy of innovation and continue to enhance creativity and the production of music for years to come.”
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