Sony Music Group has said it is open to licence agreements with artificial intelligence developers, after it sent out formal letters to over 700 AI companies to take a stand against the use of its music being used without consent.
The letters, sent today, make it “expressly” clear that the recording giant is opting out of any so-called text and data mining (TDM) of its content for any purposes, including for training, developing, or commercialising AI systems.
Sony, which represents artists including Travis Scott, Adele and Bob Dylan, said it is open to discuss licence agreements with any developers that would like to train on its music content.
It has also issued a public declaration online, saying “innovation must ensure that songwriters’ and recording artists’ rights, including copyrights, are respected.”
Sony Music is a “passionate believer in the inherent and paramount value of human artistry,” the declaration stated, adding that the company supports AI as a creative tool when used responsibly.
Under the EU AI Act, and in many other countries, the onus is on copyright owners to publicly opt out of their content being used to train AI models.
Sony plans to continuously send letters to AI developers to make them aware that permission to use its content is required in advance.
Recently, Sony joined Universal and a number of other companies to launch a website designed to empower record labels to safeguard their copyright. It also warned technology businesses engaging in the “unlicensed exploitation” of their content.
And MPs have called for a new law to stop AI firms “deceiving” music fans by releasing deepfakes or AI-generated music and to protect creators from “theft”.
