Artists sign letter in opposition to ‘predatory AI practices’

The rise of artificial intelligence and the access to it by the public has sent major shock waves through the entertainment industry in recent months. As content is being created and distributed from these AI generators, some of the biggest names in music are speaking out against ‘predatory AI practices.’

As AI quickly expands and becomes accessible to users around the world, artists and organizations involved in creative content have had to pivot quickly to adjust and at times push back against this new technology. Now, a recently shared letter has been signed by some of the most prominent names in music to help ensure fair practices and protections are in place to protect human creations. The letter, which is titled Stop Devaluing Music, has garnered over 200 signatures and represents a united front from artists past and present as they look to protect their livelihood and legacy.

The letter

In the letter, it recognizes the changing technological landscape, noting, “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.” From here it goes on to cite some of the predatory and negative aspects that have come from this new technology. “Some of the biggest and most powerful companies are, without permission, using our work to train AI models. These efforts are directly aimed at replacing the work of human artists with massive quantities of AI-created “sounds” and “images” that substantially dilute the royalty pools that are paid out to artists.”

The letter concludes with a call to developers to find solutions that don’t undermine the value, both spiritually and financially, of human creators. “We call on all AI developers, technology companies, platforms and digital music services to pledge that they will not develop or deploy AI music-generation technology, content or tools that undermine or replace the human artistry of songwriters and artists or deny us fair compensation for our work.”

With signatures from Billie Eilish, Pearl Jam, Elvis Costello, Ryan Tedder, and more, it represents a unified call to action from artists in the industry.