In a coordinated effort to protect creator livelihoods, a major global coalition of musician and industry organizations have released an open letter demanding immediate reform in how record labels, publishers, and AI companies negotiate artificial intelligence deals.
The letter sounds the alarm on contract practices that can strip creators of control over their voices, likenesses, and intellectual property without meaningful consent or fair compensation.
Signatories
- United States: Music Artists Coalition (MAC), Songwriters of North America (SONA), National Independent Talent Organization (NITO), Artists Rights Alliance, Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC).
- United Kingdom: The Ivors Academy, Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), Music Managers Forum UK.
- Canada & Australasia: Music Managers Forum Canada, Association of Artist Managers (Australia), Music Managers Forum Aotearoa (New Zealand).
- Global & Regional Alliances: European Music Managers Alliance (EMMA), European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA), International Artists Organization (IAO).
- European National Chapters: Dozens of manager and creator forums spanning France (UMAN), Germany (IMUC), Spain (FORMA), the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Ireland, Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Estonia, Denmark, Ukraine, Iceland, and Switzerland.
Forced Opt-Ins and Secret AI Deals
Here is a breakdown of what the music industry's leading artist and manager advocates are demanding, and why this represents a pivotal moment for the future of music copyright.
According to the open letter, major record companies and music publishers are aggressively negotiating AI deals behind closed doors. While these deals rely heavily on the works, voices, and creative identities of artists and songwriters, the creators themselves are being left out of the conversation.
The coalition highlights two trends currently facing artists:
- Default Opt-Ins: Artists bound to existing recording and publishing agreements are receiving letters informing them that they will be automatically opted into AI-related uses unless they explicitly object, offering little real choice.
- Forced Contract Clauses: New artists seeking to sign agreements are finding sweeping AI rights clauses embedded as a standard, non-negotiable condition of signing.
The letter warns that artists are being forced to grant permissions without sufficient information, clear terms, or guaranteed remuneration. It stresses that moral, neighboring, image, and personality rights belong to the creators—not to labels or publishers to license away as automated assets.
3 Core Principles for all AI Music Deals
To rebalance the scales, the global coalition outlined three non-negotiable pillars that all industry partners, digital platforms, and policy makers need to respect:
1. Consent & Control
- Artists and songwriters must give active, specific consent before their work, voice, performance, or likeness is used by AI.
- AI rights cannot be buried in broad, catch-all contract language or granted in perpetuity.
- Artists must have the right to say "no" to AI utilization without fear of financial or professional penalization.
2. Fair Compensation
- Creators must receive fair, meaningful, and transparent remuneration if they choose to participate in AI projects.
- AI revenue cannot be treated as a general label asset.
- There must be explicit clarity regarding the exact percentage of revenue distributed to the creator, the label, and the AI company.
3. Clarity & Transparency
- All AI proposals must be purpose-specific rather than open-ended.
- Creators and their managers require timely, understandable information detailing which rights are included, permitted uses, safeguards, duration, and how consent can be withdrawn.
Ultimate Demand: A Public Commitment
The coalition is calling on all companies entering the AI music space to make an immediate, public commitment to three baseline rules:
No default opt-ins.
No forced AI clauses.
No use of artists' work, voice, performance, likeness, or creative identity without meaningful consent, fair remuneration, and full transparency.
Hypebot's Bottom Line
As policymakers around the world actively review copyright legislation in response to generative AI, a global coalition of artists advocates are drawing a line in the sand.
The structures built today will permanently dictate the economic reality of tomorrow's music ecosystem.
As the coalition states: "The future of music must be built with artists, songwriters and their representatives, not imposed on them."
