A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN MUSIC CREATIONS AND COPYRIGHT LAWS

Abstract

The music industry is no stranger to disruptive technology as the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the music industry has ushered in a myriad of both favorable and unfavorable consequences. On one side Artificial intelligence has instigated a transformation in the creation, consumption, and discovery of music. It has provided artists with new realms of creative exploration, equipped music producers with advanced tools, and elevated the overall music listening experience for aficionados. However, the advent of AI in music industry has triggered high rate of the violation of copyright in music industry as it poses threat to originality and authorship of musical creation. The main objective of this study is to appraise the legal implications of AI in music and copyright laws. In the course of carrying out this research, doctrinal research methodology was adopted and the study recommended among others, that enforcement should be strengthened to hold digital service providers accountable by requiring them to remove infringing AI-generated content upon receiving a notice from the copyright owner, and introduce clear penalties for developing AI to pirate copyrighted works. The study concluded that the advancements in computing are reaching a point where distinguishing between works created by humans and those generated by machines will become increasingly challenging. Hence, it becomes our responsibility to determine the extent of protection we should afford to AI- generated works, even when they involve minimal or no human intervention.