When it comes to AI’s impact on human creativity and employment, the music industry has been described as the ‘canary in the coalmine’. Software that creates music based on prompts in a matter of seconds, with no human in the loop, poses a direct threat to incomes and employment in the music sector. This kind of music-generating AI teaches itself using the treasure trove of human music – Leonards Cohen’s Tower of Song – but pays no one for it.
The danger is so immediate that it has rattled artists at the very top of the food chain. Earlier this year 200 musicians including Billie Eilish, Stevie Wonder, Katy Perry, Nikki Minaj and REM were signatories to an open letter calling on “AI developers, technology companies, platforms and digital musical services to cease the use of AI to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.”
Written under the rubric of the Artists Rights Alliance, the letter had an unvarnished warning for the music industry.
“Some of the biggest and most powerful companies are, without permission, using our music to train AI models. These efforts are directly aimed at replacing the work of human artists with massive quantities of AI-created sounds and images that substantially dilute the royalty pools that are paid out to artists. For many working musicians, artists and songwriters who are just trying to make ends meet, this would be catastrophic.
“We must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal artists’ voices and likenesses, violate creators’ rights and destroy the music ecosystem.”
This threat has been front of mind for Dr Martin Clancy for some years now. A senior AI research fellow with the Insight Research Ireland Centre for Data Analytics, Clancy has spent a career in the music business and has been looking around the corner at music in an AI future. He can see both the promise and the threat that AI poses and is working to help the sector steer itself in a positive direction.
He is leading a project called AI:OK, funded by Enterprise Ireland, with ambitions to move the needle on the global music industry’s relationship with AI.
AI:OK, if fully realised, would be the stamp of authenticity that consumers will need if they are to support music that keeps human creativity at its heart. Like a ‘Fairtrade’ or ‘Guaranteed Irish’ label, the AI:OK trustmark is shorthand for a consumer value – in this case enabling those using music products and services to distinguish between human-present and human-absent music, offering choice and agency for music lovers to support the industry they love.
During COVID, it became clear that the arts sector is very fragile. Governments and publics responded with support, demonstrating the value that we place on the arts when they are under immediate threat. Ireland responded with the first steps towards a universal income for artists, recognising that if we let the Irish arts scene deteriorate, we will lose a fundamental aspect of our national character and a significant driver of tourism, investment and income. It is appropriate, therefore, that AI:OK is an Irish initiative.
How does it work? AI:OK brings the music industry together to determine and communicate the ethical use of AI. Dr. Martin Clancy and his team are working to identify ethically aligned music products and to support these with cutting edge technology and tools.
They are dedicated to making sure AI is used ethically, and that creators and consumers share the same confidence in the music we all listen to and create together. While still in the early stages, AI:OK is addressing the issues AI presents to the industry, and guiding the conversation and way forward.
Clancy and David Hughes are working with Professor Tomas Ward, director of the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics at DCU, to bring on board the expertise and the technological and financial resources of Ireland’s €150-million-funded data research centre.
AI:OK has received initial letters of support from organisations including Universal Music Group, The Recording Academy, Artist Rights Alliance, Fairly Trained, A2IM, Music Producers Guild UK, the Swedish Arts Council, and Albhy Galuten. In addition to letters of support, AI:OK has also put together a Partner Network with Research Partners including Deezer, Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics, Ableton, Dublin City University, Trinity College Dublin and NYU.
AI:OK’s main objectives are to build a structure and culture of self-regulation for the industry, to ensure IP protection and sustainable economic growth for all music creators, to develop transparent standards and to drive innovation and opportunity for music producers in the age of AI.
The project aims to bolster the music ecosystem through the establishment of an industry forum, global standards, real-time responses to non-compliant behaviour and research excellence to inform best practices and exploit technological advancements.
To assure consumers and creators, AI:OK will issue a trustmark denoting music created with responsible AI. The use of the trustmark will be based on criteria agreed upon through a consensus-driven process with music ecosystem stakeholders. This will bring together a diverse range of music stakeholders to proactively shape the future of the industry in the age of AI. Artificial intelligence is a key tool for the AI:OK team to realise its mission, hence the close collaboration with Insight. AI will do the heavy lifting when it comes to identifying and labelling music products and services that keeps human creativity at its core.
Clancy and his team embrace AI as a lever for creativity. As the Artists Alliance put it in their recent letter:
‘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.”
In conversation with Louise Holden
Martin Clancy will speak at the SoAlive Music Conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, which takes place from the 2nd to the 4th of October https://www.soalivemusicconference.com/
