Artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content has increased since the launch of ChatGPT-4, the most recent iteration of OpenAI's AI chatbot, and similar products. However, not everyone has supported some of its unchecked possibilities.
According to a Financial Times piece dated April 13, Universal Music Group (UMG) is the most recent company to express concerns about new technology. The major player in the music industry requested that copyrighted songs' melodies and lyrics not be harvested by AI systems. Streaming providers like Spotify and Apple Music were instructed to comply.
A source familiar with the situation claims that UMG has been requesting the removal of AI-generated songs from streaming sites "left and right" as they have started to appear more often.
One Twitter user shared an example of an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated song with an almost identical AI Jay Z to the real Jay Z. As a fan of Jay-Z, the user stated that he "enjoyed" the track but wasn't sure if he should feel "good or ashamed" about enjoying AI-music.
Up until now, developers have trained AI bots using the music libraries available on streaming services. The report claims that UMG is "increasingly concerned" about AI bots leveraging stolen intellectual property to create music that is identical to works by real artists.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the ongoing development of the next generation of technology raises "significant issues."
They went on to add that AI might be requested to write a song with lyrics similar to Taylor Swift's but featuring the vocals and themes of other well-known singers, such as Bruno Mars and Harry Styles.
“The output you get is due to the fact the AI has been trained on those artists’ intellectual property.”
In emails to the streaming services, UMG expressed its commitment to putting artists' rights first, stating that "we will not hesitate to take steps to protect our rights and those of our artists."
The same Twitter user also shared a video of Kanye West impersonated by artificial intelligence (AI) singing along to Drake's song "Hold On." These kinds of illustrations go directly to the concerns UMG is currently voicing regarding streaming services.
Along with AI-generated music on Twitter and well-known streaming services, entire YouTube pages are appearing and using AI to remake well-known songs.
The problem might simply be the start of what the music industry has to contend with in its fight against AI technologies abusing intellectual property rights. Google just revealed MusicLM, their own machine-learning music tool that can create "high-fidelity music from text descriptions."
Although the programme hasn't yet been made available, Google has posted a complete page of sample music along with explanations (keywords) on how it was made on GitHub.
Editor-Sarah Fathima Ahmed
April 2023, CryptoniteUae