This is a template letter provided by CMM that music-makers and their managers can tailor and send to any labels, distributors and publishers they work with, making it clear that advance permissions must be sought before any of their music is used to train an AI model. You can also access this letter as a Google Doc here.
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Dear X
I am currently reading about the potential impact of artificial intelligence – and especially generative AI – on the music community and the wider creative industries.
It’s good to see that so many UK music companies and organisations are embracing the Human Artistry Campaign. I agree that “copyright protection exists to help incentivise and reward human creativity, skill, labour and judgement”, and that “creators and copyright owners must retain exclusive control over determining how their content is used” to ensure “that human creators are paid for their work”.
It is important we acknowledge the potential positive impact of AI on the music business, while also stressing that AI companies and their business partners must respect copyright, and other creator and personality rights, and secure consent from music-makers before making use of their music.
For this to occur it is essential that tech companies are fully transparent about how they train and utilise any AI models for music and, in turn, that rights holders are transparent about licensing deals covering these models and the income generated from them.
For the record, I do not currently consent for any [recordings that I performed on / songs I wrote or co-wrote] (delete as appropriate) to be used to train any AI models. I also consider that the use of my works in the context of the production of any derivative works to be an unauthorised adaptation and an infringement of my moral rights.
I look forward to hearing about any opportunities in the music AI domain that you identify and discussing how we might collaborate on pursuing those opportunities together.
Many thanks
[INSERT NAME]
