In a letter to more than 700 companies, including tech companies and music streaming services, Sony Music Group has clearly warned against any of its material being used in AI training models, unless it granted specific permission to do so.
The warning is believed to cover album cover art, metadata, musical compositions and lyrics.
“Unauthorized use” of Sony Music Group content in the “training, development or commercialization of AI systems” deprives the company and its artists of control and compensation for those works, said the letter which was seen by Bloomberg.
Sony Music, whose artists include Beyoncé, Celine Dion and Adele, among others, said that while it recognises the “significant potential” of AI, “unauthorised use of SMG Content in the training, development or commercialisation of AI systems” deprives it and its artists of control and “appropriate compensation.”
Sony’s letter asks the letter’s recipients to detail which of Sony Music’s songs were used to train AI systems, how the songs were accessed, how many copies were made and if any copies still exist, and why copies existed in the first place, reported Tech Crunch. It has given recipients of the letter a deadline to respond, adding that it will enforce its copyright to the “fullest extent permitted by applicable law in all jurisdictions.”
“We support artists and songwriters taking the lead in embracing new technologies in support of their art,” Sony Music Group said in a statement this week. “However, that innovation must ensure that songwriters’ and recording artists’ rights, including copyrights, are respected.”
In a similar move, earlier this month, Universal Music Group reached a deal with ByteDance’s TikTok where the two entities agreed to “work together to ensure AI development across the music industry will protect human artistry and the economics that flow to those artists and songwriters.”
