BMI believes that AI presents both challenges and opportunities.
When used ethically, AI can help foster creativity and expand economic opportunities in creative industries. However, unlicensed AI models can negatively impact the value of human creativity if there is no compensation for the creators whose work made these innovations possible.
That is why BMI strongly supports ahuman-centric approach to AI that recognizes its value but urges ethical use of copyrighted works and demands respect for the unique value of songwriters, artists, creators, and performers.
BMI is closely monitoring developments on the artificial intelligence front. We’re tracking the U.S. Copyright Office’s guidance on registering works with AI-generated content and agree with its positions to date.
However, there are still many unknowns in this rapidly evolving area, and we are waiting for more guidance from the Office as this field develops. We are also working with our music industry partners to understand their positions on AI-generated content in musical works, and we are holding listening sessions with our affiliates to discuss the opportunities and challenges of AI.
BMI continues to be active on Capitol Hill, meeting with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to highlight the potential benefits and risks of AI technologies for our affiliates. We have also supported the following critical initiatives and bills, all meant to value human creativity and the ethical use of AI:
BMI is always working to ensure that our affiliates are compensated for the public performances of their musical works. Given the rapidly evolving nature of AI, we will continue to build on BMI’s AI policy based on the latest legislation, litigation, and other music industry developments.
Please check back for continuing updates on BMI’s AI policy and FAQs below.
Most AI companies are using models trained on human-created works. While some models are trained ethically through licensing or works for hire, many are trained by scraping copyrighted materials without permission. BMI believes in the ethical training of AI systems, meaning that all music creators should have choice whether their works are used in those systems, and they should be compensated if they are used. A resource to learn more isFairlyTrained.org.
BMI reserves the right to remove works from the BMI repertoire if it is determined to be an AI work or is otherwise improperly registered.
No. Even if multiple prompts are used to refine the result, the resulting music is not currently considered eligible for copyright.
The U.S. Copyright Office determines this on a case-by-case basis, evaluating the level of human creativity and contribution. Copyright will only protect the human-authored aspects of the work. For more information see the U.S. Copyright Office’s registration guidance athttps://copyright.gov/ai/ai_policy_guidance.pdf.
No. BMI does not accept registrations for fully AI-generated works, as those types of works are not considered copyrightable under current U.S. law.
Not at this time. Based on our current research and analysis, BMI expects to allow those works to be registered in the future since there is a human creation component to partially AI-generated music. We are still determining the best way to capture this information in our systems and this will continue to evolve as we refine BMI’s AI policies.
Please see the U.S. Copyright Office Registration Guidance for more information on partially AI-generated works (https://www.copyright.gov/ai/), and be sure to come back to this page for continuing updates on our AI policies, including additional guidance on how to register these types of works in future.
Please emailreviseworks@bmi.com and a BMI representative will assist you in removing the work.
Not at this time. We are closely monitoring guidance from the U.S. Copyright Office on partially AI-generated works as we build on and refine BMI’s AI policy. Please continue to check this page for any relevant legislative developments and updates. For more information on royalties and registering your works, please go to-https://www.bmi.com/creators/royalty/general_information.
Not at this time. Based on current guidance from the Copyright Office, only humans can be considered authors or writers of a work. Therefore, affiliates cannot currently register an AI company or the owner or creator of the AI tool as a writer. Similarly, an AI company would not be able to register as a publisher of a work unless a human creator assigns their publishing rights to the AI company.
BMI reserves the right to remove works from the BMI repertoire if it is determined to be an AI work or is otherwise improperly registered.
BMI will continue to follow Copyright Office guidance on U.S. law. However, BMI is actively engaging in discussions with foreign PROs and closely monitoring developments in the industry as well as the applicable laws in each country.
We’ll continue to add educational resources, upcoming events and tools to help you navigate the ever-changing world of AI, so please check back.
Get the latest updates from the U.S. Copyright Office athttps://www.copyright.gov/ai/.
To learn more about the Copyright Office’s initiative to examine copyright law and policy issues raised by AI technology, watchWebinar: Registration Guidance for Works Containing AI-generated Content | U.S. Copyright Office
Some companies are developing generative AI music models that only use copyrighted works with permission, which is known as “ethical AI.” To learn more about ethical AI, and the companies that are taking a more consent-based approach to training,visitFairly Trained.
PAST EVENTS
BMI and BMAC Present a Panel on AI’s Opportunities and Challenges for Music Creators –Read more and watch highlights from the event.
Learn more about the Human Artistry Campaign athttps://www.humanartistrycampaign.com/. Consider signing the petition in support of fundamental AI principles for the responsible use of artificial intelligence.
You can sign the “Statement on AI Training,” which rejects the unlicensed training of generative AI models on creative works.