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.
Bruce Springsteen has cancelled a series of dates due to “vocal issues”, days after performing in what he described as “hellacious” weather in Sunderland.
The US star, 74, postponed shows in Marseille, Prague and Milan over the next fortnight, with his European tour set to resume in Madrid on 12 June.
In an Instagram post on Sunday, he said he was “recuperating comfortably” and he and the E Street Band “look forward to resuming their hugely successful European stadium tour”.
With “further examination” and “consulting”, the statement also said, doctors determined Bruce “should not perform for the next 10 days”.
Springsteen had played at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light on Wednesday, where he admitted the weather was particularly wet.
As he was honoured at London’s Ivor Novello Awards on Thursday, he said: “We just… came out of the plane in Sunderland last night, (it was) hellacious weather.
Sir Paul McCartney presented Bruce Springsteen with the Fellowship of The Ivors Academy. Pic: Dave Hogan/Hogan Media/Shutterstock
“Driving rain storm, the wind blowing, blowing, blowing, and standing… in front of me, in the rain, I realised: these are my people.”
Springsteen also treated the audience to his song Thunder Road, after Sir Paul McCartney presented him with his Ivors Academy fellowship.
New dates for his postponed shows will be announced shortly, according to his Instagram account, and anyone seeking a refund “will be able to obtain it at their original point of purchase”.
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He rescheduled dates in August last year in the US after he was taken ill, and cancelled planned concerts in March 2023 over other issues.
His first major tour in six years saw him play a headline gig in London’s Hyde Park in July 2023.
Nicki Minaj fans who queued to see her in Manchester only for her arrest to lead to the concert being cancelled at the last minute have blamed the beleaguered venue for the fiasco.
Ticketholders queued outside the Co-op Live arena from as early as 9am on Saturday and were allowed inside at 7pm.
Minaj, however, had been arrested at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on suspicion of possession of “soft drugs” and was not released until 9pm – when the gig was due to start.
Once inside, her fans, also known as Barbz, claim security staff told them she was already in the building. But at 9.40pm promoter Live Nation announced the event was being cancelled.
Nicki Minaj at the Met Gala in New York earlier in May. Pic: AP
Alvin Christie, 29, from Liverpool, was among those who had camped out since Saturday morning.
He said: “I would say it was very poorly managed. When we arrived… they were actively telling fans that she had arrived and that everyone was going to dance tonight.
“For a lot of people that were asking those questions, that’s obviously [keeping] people’s hopes up. I understand that maybe they wanted to get people into the arena for health and safety risks to stop people being outside.
“But I think most importantly, they maybe could have advised people as soon as they’ve known that the show was postponed and we should be turned away when we’re outside the arena, rather than holding loads of people in the arena.”
Mr Christie said he does not blame Minaj, and says fans wanted her to be “in a good place” for the show.
“Die-hard Nicki fan” Charu, who also travelled from Liverpool for the concert, said the evening was “so ridiculously disappointing”.
“My sister and I had been looking forward to this for months. I’m in the middle of taking my medical school exams and I had been working around this day and was so looking forward to it,” they said.
“People around us said they’d travelled from Ireland and Scotland, paid for hotels for the night in Manchester, which is not cheap.
“So the fact that tickets will be refunded or still valid for another concert doesn’t really put into perspective the time and money that we have all spent on this night.”
Co-Op Live arena in Manchester. Pic: PA
No toilets for those queuing for hours
Fan Eileen Allardyce also claimed there were “no toilets” while she queued outside from around 4pm.
“I’m very disappointed, more so [with] the venue because, obviously, everyone was unravelling on social media, everyone knew what the situation was and the venue completely let us down,” she said.
Dutch Police told Sky News Minaj was detained and eventually fined for “illegally exporting soft drugs from the Netherlands to another country”.
The rapper claimed she arrived at her hotel in Manchester early on Sunday after spending “5-6 hours” in a cell in Amsterdam.
She then invited fans to her hotel, where according to videos on social media, she spoke to the crowds outside.
“I wanted to honestly tell you that I love you,” she said.
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On X, the 41-year-old said the venue was “willing to go past 11pm”, but unidentified members of staff had “succeeded at their plan to not let me get on that stage tonight”.
A new date should be announced on Sunday, she added.
“One July option & one June option is currently being discussed. I’ll find a way to not only make up the date with the performance but I’m going to create an added bonus for everyone that had a [ticket] for this show. Promise,” she wrote.
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The new £365m Co-op Live arena has been plagued with problems even before it opened on 14 May.
The 23,500-capacity venue was originally due to open with two Peter Kay stand-up shows on 23 and 24 April, but that was pushed back when problems emerged at a test event headlined by Rick Astley.
The arena then planned for US rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie to open the arena on 1 May, but that was called off an hour before his performance, when the ventilation system fell from the ceiling.
The ventilation issue meant scheduled performances by US pop star Olivia Rodrigo and British band Keane were also postponed, while a series of shows by Take That were moved to the AO Arena elsewhere in Manchester.
An album of “incredibly personal” new songs from Sir Elton John won’t be the singer’s last, according to his long-term songwriting partner Bernie Taupin.
“It’s a pretty amazing project, very cool…it tells a lot of stories and it’s incredibly personal, but it’s certainly not final.”
Few details are known about what fans can expect from Sir Elton‘s new music, but the legendary lyricist says he thinks it will be released before Christmas.
Bernie Taupin speaking at an event earlier this week. Pic: Mark Allan
“It’s all done, it’s all in the can and ready to come out, I think, at the end of this year,” Taupin told Sky News.
While Sir Elton, 77, announced his retirement from touring last year, bowing out with a performance on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury, Taupin says they have no plans to stop making music together.
“You always think ‘is the next album going to be the last?’ but, I think, both Elton and I, we just have this creative drive and we have this ultimate total love for music on every different level.”
Taupin, who’s lived in California since the 70s, has been back in England after being invited to speak at The Other Songs Live, an evening celebrating songwriters old and new.
“Anything that nurtures talent, you know, gets my ear,” Taupin insists.
He remains one of the most successful lyricists in the world, having collaborated for more than half a century with Sir Elton, selling more than 300 million records globally, and together writing more than 30 albums.
Bernie Taupin receives the Musical Excellence Award from Sir Elton John at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony last November. Pic: Reuters
And while Taupin’s lyrics are firmly embedded in modern pop culture, he says he struggles to explain what his secret is.
“It’s very difficult for me because, in a nutshell, my answer is I don’t know, I just do it.”
Bernie Taupin told Sky News Sir Elton’s next album won’t be his last. Pic: Reuters
But one thing he’s certain of is that it’s a skill a computer just can’t replicate.
“I loathe and detest the whole idea of AI… from a creative musical standpoint, it cannot write songs as well as the human heart can because it’s got no heart.
“I’ve seen the product of AI, you know, when they’ve said write a song in the style of so-and-so and it’s complete shit.”
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For Taupin, one-half of one of the world’s most successful songwriting partnerships, he’s not ready to be written off by technology.
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