Billie Eilish and Robert Smith lend support to campaign fighting AI in the music industry
Billie Eilish, Robert Smith, Stevie Wonder, and many other prominent names from across the music industry have signed an open letter warning against the danger of “predatory” use of artificial intelligence in music.
On April 2nd, the non-profit body Artist Rights Alliance published the open letter Stop Devaluing Music, which is concerned with the fast rise of AI in the music industry and has been signed by over 200 famous figures. While it notes that technology has the potential to be used for good and can facilitate human creativity, it significantly notes the nefarious means that some platforms and developers are using to undermine their work and livelihoods in the hunt for monetary gain.
In essence, the new letter follows on from what electronic musician James Blake outlined on social media at the start of March. He took to Twitter to delve into the financial facets of his career, and at one point made his fears about AI in music clear. He said: “Since it’s cheaper to produce fast, synthetic music to drop on streaming every week to capitalize on the strengths of the model, watch how the model is preparing you for AI generated music that pays musicians nothing at all.”
Now, in Stop Devaluing Music, the Artist Rights Alliance have made a concerted effort against what Blake and others have already spoken about. In addition to those above, it has been signed by the likes of Katy Petty, Sam Smith, Kim Petras, R.E.M., Jon Bon Jovi, Pearl Jam, Norah Jones, Yard Act, The Last Dinner Party, Smokey Robinson and Sheryl Crow. Even the estates of Bob Marley and Frank Sinatra have committed their signatures.
In the letter, the Artist Rights Alliance asks that developers, tech companies, and streaming sites: “pledge that they will not develop or deploy AI music-generation technology, content, or tools that undermine or replace the human artistry of songwriters and artists or deny us fair compensation for our work.”
It continues: “Make no mistake: we believe that, when used responsibly, AI has enormous potential to advance human creativity and in a manner that enables the development and growth of new and exciting experiences for music fans everywhere.”
Striking a grave note, it adds: “Unfortunately, some platforms and developers are employing AI to sabotage creativity and undermine artists, songwriters, musicians and rightsholders. When used irresponsibly, AI poses enormous threats to our ability to protect our privacy, our identities, our music and our livelihoods.”
The letter explicitly states that a collection of the largest and “most powerful” companies are using their work to train AI without their permission. It maintains that these efforts are intended to replace the work of human musicians with an enormous amount of AI-created sounds and images, in order to dilute the royalty pools paid out to artists. Understandably, as artists are currently facing the most challenging economic climate on record, this represents an existential threat.
The letter asserts: “Unchecked, AI will set in motion a race to the bottom that will degrade the value of our work and prevent us from being fairly compensated for it. This assault on human creativity must be stopped. We must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal professional artists’ voices and likeness, violate creators’ rights, and destroy the music ecosystem.”
In other Billie Eilish news, the ‘Happier Than Ever’ singer recently clarified her comments after receiving criticism for sharing her thoughts on artists releasing different versions of albums to climb the charts. She maintained that she only intended to highlight “industry-wide systemic issues” rather than throw peers under the bus.
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