#SHOWBIZ: AI-generated music: Unregulated development threat to music industry

New Straits Times

06-05-2025

KUALA LUMPUR: The Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (RIM) is sounding the alarm over the escalating threat posed by unregulated artificial intelligence (AI)-generated music to Malaysia's music industry.
As AI technologies rapidly advance, RIM is calling for urgent attention and action from government regulatory bodies to address the serious implications for the local music scene.
"While AI offers potential for enhancing creativity and production efficiency, its unregulated use poses a significant danger that could undermine the very foundation of Malaysia's vibrant music industry," said RIM chairman, Rosmin Hashim, in a statement today.
A primary concern is copyright infringement, with AI generative models being trained on copyrighted music without proper authorisation.
"Without clear regulations, human creators risk having their works exploited without consent or fair compensation.
"We've recently seen this with AI-generated versions of Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza's 'Aku Cinta Padamu,' mimicking the vocals of Dayang Nurfaizah, which raises serious copyright issues and questions of ownership over these AI-generated songs," he added.
The potential economic fallout is substantial. A global study commissioned by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) projects losses of 10 billion Euros to the music industry by 2028 due to AI-generated music.
The study concluded that, under the current regulatory framework, human creators face a double threat: lost revenue from unauthorised use of their work by AI models, and displacement by AI-generated content competing with human-made creations.
"These losses will impact everyone in the local music ecosystem, including songwriters, singers, musicians, and record companies, and will lead to significant job losses across the industry in the near future," Rosmin said.
The rise of AI-generated music is already eroding royalties for human creators on streaming platforms.
"For example, over 20,000 AI-generated tracks are being uploaded to Deezer daily, now accounting for approximately 18 per cent of their total music content.
"If unchecked, AI-generated music will eventually overwhelm human-created content on these services, severely impacting the royalties earned by our artistes," he added.
The global music industry is actively challenging AI companies to protect copyright holders.
Cases include lawsuits by Universal Music Group, Concord, and ABKCO against Anthropic for training its AI chatbot, Claude, on lyrics from artistes like Beyonce and The Rolling Stones without permission, and a lawsuit by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on behalf of major labels against AI music generation services Suno and Udio.
"A comprehensive legal framework is crucial in Malaysia to ensure that both AI companies and copyright holders can benefit from AI-generated music.
"The EU has enacted the Artificial Intelligence Act, requiring AI developers to obtain permission for using copyrighted content in training.
"The ELVIS Act in Tennessee protects individuals from unauthorized AI-generated likenesses.
"Malaysia must now legislate similar safeguards to protect our copyright holders."
RIM is urging Malaysian policymakers to enact legislation that protects human creativity and mandates transparency, requiring AI developers to disclose the copyrighted music used in training their models.
"This will ensure that AI technologies are developed in a way that supports, rather than undermines, human creativity and our cultural heritage," said Rosmin.