Recently, a trend of AI-generated covers of popular music has exploded on TikTok. In these videos, iconic musicians such as Drake, Michael Jackson, and Pop Smoke are seen performing other artist’s songs, created by an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm. These generated clips have earned tens of millions of views and have become mainstream on the platform.
Major record labels are now pursuing potential copyright infringement against these AI-generated songs. A committee of legal experts has weighed in and suggest that the process may not be as straightforward as many believe.
According to current legislation, copyright infringement occurs when someone creates or distributes a substantial identical to a protected work without permission. This raises a number of questions that may have significant implications for the music industry and its future creations.
The person at the centre of the controversy is Drake, whose AI clone has been made without permission from either him or his record label. This begs the question, who owns the intellectual property of an AI-generated clone of an artist?
The major record labels also argue that AI-generated cover of existing music may fall under the umbrella of copyright infringement as it can be argued that, as an algorithm has produced them, the resulting videos are a form of creative expression.
The debate has raised eyebrows amongst the legal community and has sparked a conversation amongst those in the entertainment industry regarding the future of AI-generated music.
It is clear that the usage of AI algorithms to generate music will have wide-reaching implications for copyright law. What is certain is that AI-generated music will only grow in popularity, no matter the outcome of this current debate.
