The United Kingdom is another jurisdiction making inroads in regulating AI use. Its pro-innovation white paper was released in March 2023 and takes a sector-specific approach to generative AI creations, their uses and their impact on UK’s economy. Five principles should inform how these technologies will be used: safety, security and robustness; appropriate transparency and explainability; fairness.; accountability and governance, and contestability and redress. While music is not explicitly addressed in the white paper, the policy will tackle how intellectual property content is used in the creative industries. Other countries, including Australia and the United States, are deliberating how to regulate AI (including generative AI). China has developed rules on AI integration with existing and new content, requiring that, among other things, its usage does not damage the reputation or interests of its citizens. Music and the economic interests of musicians are not explicitly pointed out. Still, the rules apply to content that generates sounds and films – the rights of musicians in China could plausibly fall into this category.
Consent is another problem that needs to be addressed, especially when AI uses impact the ability of the musician to exploit their work normally. The ethical use of AI includes giving recognition to musicians when credit is due, creating practical transparency frameworks, and paying royalties when copyright data is used to train and produce generative AI music. Royalties should be commensurate with industry standards on music royalties, but even more so, taking into account a forecast of how generative AI content impacts the ability of musicians to earn a decent living from their talent—future impact matters.