Sony Music recently announced that it has launched a large-scale removal of fake music content generated by AI, and has now deleted more than 75,000 fake music related to its artist Harry Styles and others. This move highlights the urgent need of the music industry in addressing the abuse of AI technology. Sony Music executives said that the number of AI fake music may be just the tip of the iceberg, and the content currently being removed is only some cases, and the fake music actually flowing into the market may far exceed the number of deleted.
Sony Music noted in a filing with the UK government that AI-fake recordings on streaming platforms have caused direct damage to the commercial interests of legitimate musicians. Executives warned that the situation could worsen further if the UK relaxed copyright protections. People familiar with the matter revealed that the challenges faced by most record companies are mainly focused on their popular artists, such as Harry Styles, Queens and Beyoncé, who have become the main targets of AI imitation.
Sony Music emphasizes in the document that the current copyright system requires AI developers to pay copyright holders to be trained using their content. However, the government's reform plan could lead to a reduction in AI paid authorization, which would further exacerbate copyright issues in the music industry. Sony warned that the proposal could cause serious damage to the UK music industry, as the UK is currently the third largest recording music market in the world and the second largest recording music exporter in the world.
Sony Music executives also pointed out that the existing identification and removal mechanisms mainly rely on manual screening, with limited efficiency and difficulty in fully coping with the proliferation of AI counterfeit music. With the continuous development of AI technology, the quality and quantity of forged music are rapidly increasing, which has brought unprecedented challenges to copyright protection in the music industry. Sony calls on the government to strengthen copyright protection and promote the upgrading of technical means to more effectively identify and combat AI fake music.
In addition, Sony Music also emphasized the far-reaching impact of AI technology on music creation and copyright protection. Although AI technology has certain innovative potential in music production, its abuse may also pose a serious threat to the rights and interests of musicians. Sony said it will continue to cooperate with governments, technology companies and other music industry participants in the future to jointly formulate a more complete copyright protection mechanism to ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of musicians are not infringed.
In general, Sony Music’s large-scale removal of AI-fake music from this action is not only a positive response to the current copyright issues, but also provides an important reference for copyright protection in the music industry in the AI era. With the continuous development of AI technology, the music industry will face more challenges, but it will also usher in more innovative opportunities. How to make full use of AI technology while protecting copyright will be an important topic that the music industry needs to continue to explore in the future.