AI and music: Billie Eilish, Sheryl Crow and Jon Bon Jovi among list of artists demanding more protection
Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj and Jon Bon Jovi are among hundreds of musicians who have signed an open letter warning developers of artificial intelligence against using the technology to generate music.
The list of around 200 artists, which also includes J Balvin and Sheryl Crow, signed an open letter written by the Artist Rights Alliance, an advocacy group, calling for AI developers, technology companies and digital music services to “cease the use of AI to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists”.
The alliance, which is run by industry veterans, said in the letter it believes AI has “enormous potential” to advance human creativity in a way that could create new and exciting experiences for fans, but it should be used responsibly.
Its concerns revolve around the invasion of artists’ privacy, the use of their identities without their consent, and the use of their music to train AI models.
“Some of the biggest and most powerful companies are, without permission, using our work to train Al models,” the letter reads.
“These efforts are directly aimed at replacing the work of human artists with massive quantities of Al-created ‘sounds’ and ‘images’ that substantially dilute the royalty pools that are paid out to artists.”
Artists fear methods using AI undermine songwriters. Pic: iStock
The alliance is calling for developers, technology companies and platforms offering music online to pledge they will not develop or deploy AI music-generation tools or content that would “undermine or replace the human artistry of songwriters and artists or deny us fair compensation for our work”.
The letter is the latest development in a wider industry pushback against the use of generative AI where it leads to infringement of copyright and workers’ rights.
In March, Tennessee became the first US state to enact legislation intended to protect musicians from having their voices generated by AI for commercial purposes. The act comes into effect at the start of July.
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The European Union recently approved the world’s first broad set of regulations to govern artificial intelligence, which music industry bodies including CISAC, the composers’ association, praised for giving musicians the tools to enforce their rights to their work.
The EU’s AI Act will divide the tech into categories of risk, with different requirements for each level.
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The most risky technologies are banned altogether, while companies producing technology with “limited risk” must meet obligations about transparency.
What exactly these obligations are is still unclear.
The act is expected to be implemented in 2025.
The UK has AI guidelines – but they are not legally binding – and it is expected to look closely at the EU’s plan for inspiration.
Entertainment
Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it’s ‘an underdog just like me’
Police are taking no further action over Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury.
Officers said they had investigated “comments about a forthcoming court case made during Kneecap’s performance” at the festival on 28 June.
However, after Crown Prosecution Service advice, they decided there is not enough evidence “to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence”.
The Avon & Somerset force started investigating the Irish group’s show last month, as well as comments by punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.
It said they were looking at a possible public order incident.
Police said on Friday that the investigation into Bob Vylan’s performance was ongoing.
The London duo were widely criticised – and caused a BBC crisis – after leading on-stage chants of “death to the IDF” (Israel Defence Forces).
Kneecap’s Liam Og O Hannaidh appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June. Pic: PA
Kneecap posted a photograph on Instagram, which the group said was an email from police announcing the case was being dropped.
They said their packed Glastonbury gig was a “celebration of love and solidarity” and reporting used “wildly misleading headlines”.
Fears over what Kneecap might do or say during the performance had prompted the BBC not to show it live.
The group said: “Every single person who saw our set knew no law was broken, not even close… yet the police saw fit to publicly announce they were opening an investigation.”
“There is no public apology, they don’t send this to media or post it on police accounts,” they added.
The police statement on Friday said they had informed Kneecap of their decision to drop the case.
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One of the group’s members appeared in court in June charged with a terror offence.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation in the UK, at a gig last year.
He was released on unconditional bail ahead of a second court appearance in August.
Entertainment
Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
The fire gutted the main stage
Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
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Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.
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