These artists will roar against AI.
More than 200 artists, including Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, Bon Jovi, Billie Eilish, Kacey Musgraves and the Jonas Brothers, have signed an open letter drawing attention to the danger that artificial intelligence poses to the music industry.
“We, the undersigned members of the artist and songwriting communities call on AI developers, technology companies, platforms and digital music services to cease the use of artificial intelligence to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists,” reads the letter, which was obtained by The Post.
“Make no mistake,” the letter continues. “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.
“When used irresponsibly, AI poses enormous threats to our ability to protect our privacy, our identities, our music and our livelihoods,” the statement continues.
“Some of the biggest and most powerful companies are, without permission, using our work 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 working just to make ends meet, this would be catastrophic. Unchecked, AI will set in motion a race to the bottom that will degrade the value of our work and prevent us from being fairly compensated for it.
“This assault on human creativity must be stopped,” the letter concludes. “We must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal professional artists’ voices and likenesses, violate creators’ rights, and destroy the music ecosystem.”
In a statement to CNN, Jen Jacobsen, executive director of the Artist Rights Alliance — the nonprofit group that organized the letter — said that conditions are getting worse for artists.
“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,” Jacobsen told the outlet. “The unethical use of generative AI to replace human artists will devalue the entire music ecosystem—for artists and fans alike.”
The ongoing development of AI is not only a concern for the music industry but also for Hollywood creatives.
Last year, actors and writers took to the picket lines to demand protections against being replaced by AI, and for an increase in base pay and residuals from streaming sites.
The Writers Guild of America managed to settle its dispute with Hollywood studios in September after nearly five months of striking.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists settled its dispute with Hollywood a few months later in November after managing to secure protections against AI, accompanied by “$1 billion in new compensation and benefit plan funding, along with outsized gains to the traditional residuals formulas.”
“I’m proud of our SAG-AFTRA membership,” SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher, 66, said at the time. “They struck for 118 days to grant the TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee the necessary leverage to secure over $1 billion in gains, along with the union’s first-ever protections around AI technology.
“Now they’ve locked in the gains by ratifying the contract,” the “Nanny” star continued. “SAG-AFTRA members have remained incredibly engaged throughout this process, and I know they’ll continue their advocacy throughout our next negotiation cycle.”
