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Abba co-founder Björn Ulvaeus warned that generative artificial intelligence “has the facility to cause great harm” to musicians after a report showed the technology could cost artists around a fifth of their income by 2028.
An economic study released on Wednesday by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) found that the industry is facing a major drop in income as AI-generated music is trained on, after which replaces, the work they do.
Ulvaeus, president of CISAC, which commissioned the investigation, told the Financial Times that it was “very unfair” that tech firms could use artists' work “without asking or compensating them.”
Abba classics were cited by record firms this yr in a lawsuit against two AI start-ups, Suno and Udio. The lawsuit alleged that the businesses unlawfully used technology to forge copyrighted music into songs. The grievance referenced a song called “Prancing Queen,” which may be very just like the Swedish band’s work.
Suno and Udio have denied the claim, arguing that their technology creates entirely recent music and that their activities amount to fair use of existing material under copyright law.
Ulvaeus said it is necessary for policymakers to introduce regulations to guard creators' rights and help develop AI frameworks so artists are paid fairly for his or her work.
Despite providing much of the creative output for training “gene AI,” music and audiovisual creators risk losing 24 and 21 percent of their revenue, respectively, to the technology by 2028, the CISAC study found. This would correspond to a cumulative loss of twenty-two billion euros over a period of 5 years.
According to the report, revenues from genetic AI providers in music and audiovisual media are expected to achieve €9 billion in 2028, up from €300 million currently.
CISAC said generative AI would “enrich technology firms while significantly threatening the income of human creators over the following five years.” The panel argued that that is revenue derived directly from the unlicensed reproduction of creators' works and represents a transfer of economic value from creators to AI firms.
According to CISAC, which represents greater than 5 million artists and composers, within the audiovisual sector, translators and adapters for dubbing and subtitling can be essentially the most affected, with greater than half of their income in danger. The study was carried out by the consulting firm PMP Strategy.
Despite his concerns, Ulvaeus is a proponent of using AI within the creative process, saying the technology would represent the “biggest revolution” ever seen in music.
Had AI existed within the Seventies, Abba would have used the technology to suggest lyrics or add other styles like Motown to their sound, he said.
AI had the potential to extend creativity and productivity in lots of industries. Ulvaeus said that he and Abba's other foremost songwriter, Benny Andersson, used to work “office hours” but still only produced about 14 songs a yr.
The best AI models can take artists in “unexpected directions,” he said.
