Since January of 2024, we have seen a significant growth in the number of companies generating music via AI, GenAI Music Companies. Let’s remember that the concept of Generative AI (i.e. ChatGPT and similar algorithms) is to generate new music using ‘training data sets’ which in the world of music, is generally music from artists and labels.

No surprise that this has caused a major uprising by the labels, i.e. Universal Music Group, Sony Music, and others, to protect the artists’ music and the label’s intellectual property (in this case, the music). That makes sense, right? It costs a lot of money to produce a song. If an AI company incorporates these songs advertently or without malice intended, and generates music that has even a distant relationship to the content that does not belong to them, labels have every right to object. If GenAI companies were to ONLY use GenAI music and no other music, then we would not have an issue.

This brings up the issue of Copyright. Protecting Copyright. Music content owners argue that copyright protects their rights and permission was not granted to use their music to generate new music (GenAI music), the GenAI music companies do not have the right to use their music. On the other hand, GenAI music companies claim that they ‘did not’ use the music and the resemblance is not their fault, so they are arguing against Copyright.

How deep is this argument? Major VC firms are funding GenAI music startups to accomplish three things:

1. They have filed a major lawsuit claiming copyright is not valid and should be dismissed completely in the world of music.
2. Certain VCs are excessively funding GenAI music startups, ie Suno (about $120M in funding), to cover legal battle costs, not startup innovation!
3. VCs are not discussing any remuneration to artists whose music is being used to build their startups. Is this fair?

The battle has begun: Major labels are now suing GenAI music companies over copyright infringement.

Hence why VCs invested excessive funding in these companies.

This is about the larger issue of whether it is fair to use copyrighted material to train Artificial Intelligence Systems (in regards to music or other).

I will be sharing more thoughts with you soon…

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