Artist Rights Alliance Addresses AI Developers & More In Open Letter

The nonprofit, artist-led education and advocacy organization Artist Rights Alliance (ARA) has addressed artificial intelligence (AI) developers, technology companies, platforms and digital music services in an open letter, supported by more than 200 artists, urging them to stop using AI to “infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.”

This follows the global discussion on the responsible use of AI in music as well as the Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act signing in the state of Tennessee. The ELVIS Act establishes protections for every person’s unique voice and likeness against unauthorized AI deepfakes and voice clones. Similar legislation is being discussed in the U.S. Congress and in several other states.

In the letter, ARA highlights the use of musical works by AI developers without permission to train and produce AI “copycats” as well as the use of AI “sound” to dilute royalty obligations.

“Working musicians are already struggling to make ends meet in the streaming world, and now they have the added burden of trying to compete with a deluge of AI-generated noise,” explains Jen Jacobsen, ARA Executive Director. “The unethical use of generative AI to replace human artists will devalue the entire music ecosystem—for artists and fans alike.”

In part, the letter states: “Make no mistake: we believe that, when used responsibly, AI has enormous potential to advance human creativity and in a manner that enables the development and growth of new and exciting experiences for music fans everywhere…Unfortunately, some platforms and developers are employing AI to sabotage creativity and undermine artists, songwriters, musicians and rightsholders.

“We must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal professional artists’ voices and likenesses, violate creators’ rights, and destroy the music ecosystem. We call on all digital music platforms and music-based services to pledge that they will not develop or deploy AI music-generation technology, content, or tools that undermine or replace the human artistry of songwriters and artists or deny us fair compensation for our work.”

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Liza Anderson

As Subscription Manager/Writer, Liza Anderson contributes to many functions of MusicRow. She produces content, carries out general office tasks, assists in the daily news operations, and provides support to all team members. Liza graduated from the University of Alabama in May of 2021 with a B.A. in English and a minor in communication studies. Prior to MusicRow, she worked as an administrative assistant at Anderson Benson where she assisted the firm’s departments, such as the Entertainment Specialty Practice, with various tasks.

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