On Friday we reported on the announcement by a group of music-industry bodies of a new system for labelling wholly AI-generated music as well as ‘AI-assisted’ music. Since then, there have been some more responses from involved parties.
Start with DiMA, which represents the big streaming services, and its statement that essentially demands better metadata from rightsholders if the new system is to work.
“DIMA has long advocated for the creators, owners, and distributors of music to provide accurate and timely metadata on all music released and distributed to streaming services,” is how it worded this.
“We are following today’s announcement closely and look forward to receiving more detailed and accurate AI metadata, which will strengthen our ability to give fans the transparency they deserve.”
DiMA’s statement also made a pointed mention of “standards bodies such as DDEX” among the entities it wants to work with on AI-labelling and related issues.
DDEX did not appear to be involved in Friday’s announcement, but it has been working on this issue, developing a standard for AI-labelling with Spotify that the latter announced last September.
AI-music firm Suno also reacted to the industry bodies’ announcement on Friday, with a statement that mainly aimed to set out its own stall as a good actor on these issues.
“This is a nuanced conversation that will require thoughtful solutions, which is why we’re continuing to work with creatives, rightsholders, and platforms on approaches that protect artists while supporting human creativity,” said Suno’s spokesperson.
“We believe transparency is important. We’re investing in watermarking, audio fingerprinting and other tools that empower artists to disclose if they used AI in a song.”
The statement’s closing sentence pushed back noticeably at the industry bodies, mind. “We believe that ultimately it should be up to artists and platforms to decide how to treat these complex issues,” said Suno’s spokesperson.
Finally, Deezer put out a warmer statement than DiMA in its response to the proposal.
“It’s encouraging to see steps being taken towards a unified approach to generative AI in music,” said its spokesperson, adding that Deezer “is ready to support the development of an industry-wide framework”.
This is the… not quite a battle, but the key tension to be resolved. The industry bodies want to develop an industry-wide framework, but that’s exactly what Spotify said it was doing with DDEX already.
It’s feasible that the two initiatives can be unified, if the bodies, their rightsholder members and streaming services can agree on the details.
Suno’s statement is a reminder that the AI-music platforms will be pressing to be involved in the process rather than just have it imposed on them, however.
