AI's Projected Impact on Music Industry: 25% Income Loss by 2028

AI Set To Cut Music Industry Incomes By 25% By 2028: Report - Sony Gr (NYSE:SONY)

It also commends Australia and New Zealand for developing AI policies that protect creators' rights while encouraging innovation. A global report released Wednesday by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) predicts that artificial intelligence (AI) will significantly impact the creative industries, with workers in music and audiovisual fields expected to lose nearly 25% of their income by 2028. The report raises concerns about how the rapid growth of GenAI, or generative AI, projected to expand from €3 billion (approx. $3.16 billion) in 2023 to €64 billion by 2028, could disrupt traditional revenue streams for creators. See Also: Streaming, Vinyl Propel Music Copyright Value To $45.5 Billion CISAC, which represents over 5 million creators worldwide, warns that the unchecked development of AI will benefit tech companies while threatening creators' rights and incomes. GenAI models, which use unlicensed reproductions of creative works, are set to compete directly with human-generated content, reducing job opportunities and earnings. The report states that AI-generated music could account for 20% of revenue on traditional streaming platforms and 60% of music library revenue by 2028. Meanwhile, developers and providers of AI in music and audiovisual industries are expected to earn billions from unlicensed uses of creators' works. Australia And New Zealand Take Action While the report details global risks, it points to Australia and New Zealand as examples of proactive policymaking. Björn Ulvaeus, CISAC president and former ABBA band member, praised the two countries for their efforts to create AI policies that protect creators while fostering innovation. "In Australia, the new Senate select committee on AI report is encouraging and promising," said Ulvaeus. "By setting a gold standard in AI policy, one that protects creators' rights while fostering responsible and innovative technological development, Australia and New Zealand can ensure that AI serves as a tool to enhance human creativity rather than replace it." Moreover, Australia's Senate recently issued a report recommending standalone legislation and stronger protections for creative workers. Music Creators At Risk The CISAC report concludes that without regulation, creators face a double threat: loss of income from copyright violations by large language models and reduced opportunities as AI-generated content competes with traditional works. "AI has the power to unlock new opportunities, but if badly regulated, it also has the power to cause great damage to human creators, their careers, and livelihoods," Ulvaeus added. In related news, earlier this year Sony Music Group SONY warned companies and music streaming services that it prohibits the use of its content for data mining, web scraping, or AI training. This applies to all content under Sony Music Publishing and Sony Music Entertainment. Furthermore, over 200 prominent musicians, including Billie Eilish, Katy Perry, Smokey Robinson and others, united to issue an open letter to artificial intelligence (AI) developers, tech companies and digital platforms. Read Next: 2024 Was World's Taylor Swift Era Once Again: Spotify Reveals Top Artists, Songs, Albums, Podcasts Image credits: Shutterstock. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Music sector workers to lose nearly a quarter of income to AI in next four years, global study finds

People working in the music sector will lose almost a quarter of their income to artificial intelligence within the next four years, according to the first global economic study examining the impact of the emerging technology on human creativity. Those working in the audiovisual sector will also see their income shrink by more than 20% as the market for generative AI grows from €3bn (A$4.9bn) annually to a predicted €64bn by 2028. The findings were released in Paris on Wednesday by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), representing more than 5 million creators worldwide. The report concluded that while the AI boom will substantially enrich giant tech companies, creators' rights and income streams will be drastically reduced unless policymakers step in. The Australian and New Zealand governments were singled out by the CISAC president, former ABBA band member Björn Ulvaeus, who said the two countries were leading the world in shaping policies that will safeguard creators in the face of generative AI. "In Australia, the new senate select committee on AI report is encouraging and promising," Ulvaeus said in a statement. "By setting a gold standard in AI policy, one that protects creators' rights while fostering responsible and innovative technological development, Australia and New Zealand can ensure that AI serves as a tool to enhance human creativity rather than replace it. "The world is watching, and the decisions made will resonate far beyond these shores." The Senate select committee inquiry in Canberra released its final inquiry into the future impact of AI last week. Among the report's 13 recommendations was the call for the introduction of standalone AI legislation and greater protection for creative workers. Dean Ormston, the chief executive of the Australian music rights management organisation Apra Amcos, said the global report recognised the incredible opportunities AI presented but also laid bare the urgent need for action from governments around the world to protect creatives rights and incomes. "It's creators who stand to lose the most," he said in a statement. "Our industry thrives on human creativity. Our songwriters, composers and music publishers are the heart of what makes Australian and New Zealand cultural exports so distinctive. "We must ensure strong protections for their work, especially Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property, so that AI platforms respect protocols and enhances rather than exploits First Nations culture. The Australian and New Zealand governments need to take the lead and act decisively to protect the livelihoods of creators and the future of our creative industries." The study concluded that under current regulatory frameworks in most countries, creators stand to lose on two fronts. Unauthorised use of their works by generative AI models will eat into remuneration earned through copyright, while at the same time work opportunities will shrink as AI-generated outputs become more competitive against human-made works. The report predicted that by 2028, exponential growth in generative AI music would account for about 20% of traditional music streaming platforms' revenues, and about 60% of music libraries' revenues. AI developers and providers in the music industry stand to gain €4bn (up from €0.1bn in 2023) while developers and providers in the audiovisual sector stand to gain €5bn over the same period. It will be revenue "derived directly from the unlicensed reproduction of creators' works, representing a transfer of economic value from creators to AI companies", the report warned. "AI has the power to unlock new and exciting opportunities - but we have to accept that, if badly regulated, generative AI also has the power to cause great damage to human creators, to their careers and livelihoods," Ulvaeus said. "Which of these two scenarios will be the outcome? This will be determined in large part by the choices made by policy makers, in legislative reviews that are going on across the world right now. "It's critical that we get these regulations right, protect creators' rights and help develop an AI environment that safeguards human creativity and culture."

A quarter of musician revenue to be lost to AI by 2028, study finds

A new global economic study has underlined the threat AI poses to human musicians and artists over the next five years. In just four years' time, a quarter of musicians could have their financial revenue threatened by AI generated music. The alarming statistic comes from a new global study into the impact AI will have on the music industry. Over the next five years, music creators could lose up to €10 billion, with an expected annual loss of €4 billion in 2028 if the rate of market penetration by generative AI continues. A global economic study by the French-founded creators' rights advocacy organisation Confédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Auteurs et Compositeurs (CISAC) has found that the use of generative AI is likely to enrich tech companies while "substantially jeopardising the income of human creators". As human creators lose out, the same €4 billion is predicted to land in the hands of tech firms creating generative AI music as the market for non-human authored music balloons to an annual value of €16 billion by 2028. This takeover will most probably be seen on streaming platforms, as automated playlists push consumers to listen to AI tracks instead of human-made music. A large portion of this music will come in the form of background music listened to in public settings and through passive playlists. The problem will also be bigger in the audiovisual field, where the market for generative AI content is expected to grow to €48 billion by 2028, through entirely AI-generated video content, alongside production teams utilising AI tools for directing and screenwriting help. Although some may consider these tools helpful additions to artists' toolboxes, artists are more likely to financially lose out to tech companies that can create larger volumes of content at a cheaper rate through AI than employing real musicians. Importantly, artists are already losing out as these tools are being trained on works created by humans, almost entirely without their consent. Most current models use copyrighted works in their training without authorisation. CISAC Director General Gadi Oron said that the study shows "the enormous value that copyright works bring to Gen AI companies." Its conclusions point to a fundamental flaw that is opening up in the market, with creators' works being unfairly and unethically appropriated to boost the revenues of Gen AI providers, while leaving the creators themselves out of this growth," Oron said. CISAC President Björn Ulvaeus said: "For creators of all kinds, from songwriters to film directors, screenwriters to film composers, AI has the power to unlock new and exciting opportunities - but we have to accept that, if badly regulated, generative AI also has the power to cause great damage to human creators, to their careers and livelihoods. Which of these two scenarios will be the outcome?" As the first study to estimate the economic impact of generative AI on creators of music and audiovisual productions at a global level, CISCA is calling for policy makers to amend laws to protect the creative industries and the people working within them.

Abba's Björn Ulvaeus warns of AI threat to musicians' revenues

Abba co-founder Björn Ulvaeus has warned that generative artificial intelligence "has the power to cause great damage" to musicians after a report showed that the technology risked costing artists about a fifth of their revenues by 2028. An economic study, published by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) on Wednesday, found the industry faces a significant fall in income as AI-generated music is trained on, and then replaces, the work that they do. Ulvaeus, president of CISAC, which commissioned the research, told the Financial Times it was "very unfair" that tech companies should be able to use artists' work "without asking or remunerating" them. Abba classics were cited by record labels in a lawsuit this year against two AI start-ups, Suno and Udio. The legal claim alleged that the companies had unlawfully used technology to rip off copyrighted music to produce songs. The complaint pointed to a song called "Prancing Queen" that closely resembles work by the Swedish band. Suno and Udio have denied the claim, arguing that their technology generates entirely new music and that their activities amount to fair use of existing material under copyright law. Ulvaeus said it was important for policymakers to put in place regulations to protect creators' rights and help develop AI frameworks so that artists were paid fairly for their work. Despite providing much of the creative output used to train "gen AI", music and audiovisual creators risk losing 24 per cent and 21 per cent of their revenues to the technology, respectively, by 2028, the CISAC study found. This would amount to a cumulative loss of €22bn over a five-year period. Meanwhile, revenues for gen AI providers in music and audiovisual are expected to be €9bn in 2028, up from €300mn now, according to the report. CISAC said that generative AI would "enrich tech companies while substantially jeopardising the income of human creators in the next five years". The body argued that "these are revenues derived directly from the unlicensed reproduction of creators' works, representing a transfer of economic value from creators to AI companies". In the audiovisual sector, translators and adaptors for dubbing and subtitling would be hit hardest, with more than half of their revenue at risk, according to CISAC, which represents more than 5mn artists and composers. The study was conducted by consultancy PMP Strategy. Despite his concerns, Ulvaeus is a supporter of using AI in the creative process, saying the technology would represent the "biggest revolution" ever seen in music. If AI had existed in the 1970s, Abba would have used the technology to suggest lyrics or to add other styles such as Motown to their sound, he said. AI had the potential to increase creativity and productivity in many industries. Ulvaeus said that he and Abba's other main songwriter, Benny Andersson, used to work "office hours" but still only produced about 14 songs a year. The best AI models would be able to take artists into "unexpected directions", he said.