Over the course of April and May, the United States Copyright Office (USCO) held virtual listening sessions on the use of artificial intelligence in various creative industries.

The aim of these listening sessions was to hear directly from those who are involved in and represent various creative fields so that both the USCO and the listeners can gain an understanding of the creative industry’s goals, concerns, and questions about AI and copyright law.

Most recently, on May 31, the USCO held its final listening session of the series which covered music and sound recordings. During that listening session, the Recording Academy’s Senior Director of Advocacy & Public Policy, Michael Lewan, participated in the panel discussion to help ensure that music creators are represented in discussions on potential rules and regulations for AI.

In addition to the listening session on music and sound recordings, the USCO held three other listening sessions focused on other creative fields: literary works, including software (April 19); visual arts (May 2); and audiovisual works, including film, television and video games (May 17).

Throughout the May 31 listening session on music and sound recordings, panelists shared their insights on the use of AI as a tool to help creativity, the need for copyright protection, and the use of an artist's name, image, and likeness being used in AI generated content.

Shira Perlmutter, the Register of Copyrights and Director of the USCO, opened the session by drawing attention to the widely shared belief that improving transparency in the production of AI works is needed. Still, there are differing views among stakeholders on whether or not the use of copyrighted work to train generative AI technologies can be classified as fair use or if it is an infringement on the copyright owner’s rights.

During his opening remarks, Lewan highlighted the Academy’s view on AI by quoting one of the Recording Academy’s National Trustees, John Legend, who said recently: "AI's going to be a part of our lives, and it's going to be something that kind of augments our own intelligence, our own collective intelligence. And that's fine, but when it comes to using someone's likeness, using their intellectual property, I believe our rights should still be protected."

Lewan continued to state that generative AI has made creating music more accessible and that it will continue to give opportunities to a new and diverse sect of creators — something the Recording Academy believes will be a great benefit to the music community.

However, in the exploration of new technologies and expansion of music creation, Lewan affirmed that the Recording Academy believes that the rights of creators such as intellectual property and name, image, and likeness still need to be strongly protected.

Plus, a copyright system that encourages human creativity — rather than just AI-generated work — is key to keeping the music community alive as AI technology continues to advance.

Following opening statements, the panelists answered a series of questions including the concerns surrounding the use of copyrighted material to train AI technology. Multiple panelists highlighted that artists, songwriters, and producers are concerned their work is being used to train AI models without their consent and that copyright owners must have a right to decide when and how their work is used.

In discussing this issue, Lewan highlighted that there has not been clear guidance from governing bodies on what is or is not copyright infringement when it comes to training AI technologies. Until there are guidelines in place, he continued, there is a lack of incentive for all parties to come to the table to try and agree on licensing solutions.

As the conversation continued, Lewan and other panelists raised the need for transparency in data to ensure human creators remain protected. This sentiment was raised not only in the context of training AI models, but also in the context of protecting artist’s rights to their name, image, and likeness.

Overall, the panelists agreed that protecting human creativity throughout the development of AI technology is of the utmost importance to ensure music creators are benefiting from, rather than being harmed by these developments.

The Recording Academy has made protecting artists throughout the development of AI a priority and has continued to work with lawmakers and other stakeholders to ensure that artists remain protected and can continue to use their passion and talents to create new music.

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