Hip-Hop stars, including Nicki Minaj, Jadakiss, Jim Jones, Hit-Boy, Metro Boomin, and others, signed an open letter urging digital music developers to stop using AI to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.
The campaign alerted the public about AI developers using musical works without permission, which creates AI “copycats” or dilutes royalty obligations. AI’s threat to creators and its value to tech giants is a growing concern in the legal and pop music industries.
Stemming from a 2023 lawsuit involving all three major publishers. The open letter states the following: “Make no mistake: 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.”
Politicians are striving to establish regulations around the use of AI in music and ensure fair compensation for artists.
Jen Jacobsen, the executive director of the Artists Rights Alliance, has released a statement regarding the use of generative AI in music.
“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,” said Jacobsen. “The unethical use of generative AI to replace human artists will devalue the entire music ecosystem — for artists and fans alike,”
Among the 200 signatures include superstars Sam Smith, Katy Perry, and Billie Eilish.
The full list of the open letter is available here.