Representatives of Music Creators North America, the Songwriters Guild of America and the Society of Composers & Lyricists, were out in force this week in Washington, DC.
Whether on the Hill, at the US Copyright Office, or before the US Patent and Trademark Office, the message was made clear: for the sake of American musical culture, the US economy, and fairness to creators as required under the Constitution, the voice of independent music creators (i.e., those un-beholden to multi-national, publicly traded corporate conglomerates) must be heard loud and clear on the issue of Generative AI.
The principles of consent, credit, and compensation being combined into a new, “sui generis” right guaranteeing human creators all three rights in regard to both the input and output processes of GenAI, was at the heart of this week’s discussions. The EU, led by the German society GEMA, is already gaining excellent traction in Brussels espousing this same approach to benefit creators in Europe and everywhere.
Working globally , just as corporations do, on legislative issues connected to protecting creators’ rights in GenAI contexts, is “Job One” for American and foreign creators. In pursuit of that joint strategy, independent songwriters, composers and lyricists throughout the world have rolled up their sleeves and gotten down to work when it comes to protecting and preserving their rights in a potentially GenAI-dominated marketplace in the near future.
Stay tuned, in the U.S. and elsewhere.
