Breaking down the APRA AI Report
by Scott Oaks
In early 2024, APRA AMCOS, the leading Australasian music rights management organisation, conducted a survey on 4200+ members. The intention of this survey was to gather information about how members were engaging with AI and what the general public sentiment about this technology is.
FROM APRA AMCOS WEBSITE:
Key findings from the 2024 report:
- by 2028, 23% of music creators’ revenues will be at risk due to generative AI, projecting an estimated cumulative total damage of over half a billion NZD ($572 million);
- over half (54%) of those surveyed agree that AI technology can assist the human creative process, with New Zealand and Australian songwriters/composers being early adopters;
- 82% of music creators are concerned that the use of AI in music could lead to them no longer being able to make a living from their work;
- 76% of Māori members surveyed believe that AI could lead to an increase in cultural appropriation; and
- 97% demand that policymakers should pay more attention to the challenges related to AI and copyright.
Diagram sourced from APRA AMCOS.
In 2024, AI tools are present at every stage of the music creation process. The image above from the APRA report showcases the areas AI products are being created in and which companies are producing them. With more startups opening every day the ubiquity of AI in the music industry is constantly increasing.
Diagram sourced from APRA AMCOS.
With the market for generative AI forecast to increase tenfold by 2028, the risk of artists losing work to AI tools is a relevant concern. While AI is used across all genres of music, and prominently for Electronic and Hip-Hop, artists creating stock music, advertising music, and music for video games feel particularly under threat, the latter typically falling under the category of freelance composition. A research report from 2020 “Music Creation by Example” (Frid, Gomes, Jin), notes that:
“Recent advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) open up the possibility to generate professional-sounding music for video production.”
With New Zealand already a small market for those composing in film and advertising music, the threat of obsolescence by AI is more prevalent than in larger countries with greater opportunities for work in these areas.
Diagram sourced from APRA AMCOS.
We can observe from the above slide that the majority of APRA members believe that AI tools are going to be prominent across almost every area of the music industry. With the inevitability of AI’s presence in the music business, it is important that legislative bodies take action to protect culture and creators.
Diagram sourced from APRA AMCOS.
While 19% of Māori APRA members believe that AI will open new opportunities for Māori musicians, 67% believe that it will make it difficult to protect their cultural rights, such as traditions around taonga puoro. Dame Hinewehi Mohi, Director of Māori membership at APRA notes that AI scraping often lumps cultural traditions together, forming somewhat of an “indigenous soup”, compromising their integrity and uniqueness.
Diagram sourced from APRA AMCOS.
While a lot of this information may feel quite negative, it has helped APRA to advocate for a legislative framework where generative AI can be used ethically in New Zealand and Australia. The key tenets of this framework are focused around credit and transparency for how AI is both used and trained; including what works are being used, consent and permission when they are, and remuneration for those artists.
To read the full APRA AMCOS report, click the link below:
https://assets.apraamcos.co.nz/images/PDFs/Full-Report-AI-and-Music-by-Goldmedia-for-APRA-AMCOS.pdf
Works Cited:
Frid, Emma, et al. “Music Creation by Example.” 2020, https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3313831.3376514.
Goldmedia. AI and Music; Market Development of AI in the Music Sector and Impact on Music Creators in Australia and New Zealand. APRA AMCOS, Aug. 2024, https://assets.apraamcos.co.nz/images/PDFs/Full-Report-AI-and-Music-by-Goldmedia-for-APRA-AMCOS.pdf.