Live at Artificial Intelligence Meets Tin Pan Alley (Griffin ABC) Music Biz 2019

About the performance

Artificial Intelligence is surely changing the world, including the way that music is created and consumed. In fact, AI is invading the sacred realm of songwriting. Today, in the time it takes some people to restring and tune a guitar, AI software has the ability to compose a melody and lyrics that arguably are similar enough to human-written songs to evoke real emotions. Is it inevitable that a computer will create a chart-topping song in the not-so-distant future? Consider, for example, the AI-created Pop song, “Daddy’s Car.” Released in 2016, it’s said to be the world’s first structured AI Pop song, for which AI software drew “inspiration” from the decades-old and revered Beatles songbook. Could the creative, business, and legal implications of this brave new world fundamentally disrupt the very foundation of the music and broader entertainment industries?

Among the legal issues to be discussed, perhaps the most important one is who owns the copyright in an AI-written song? Who is “author” under the Copyright Act? Is it the person who created the underlying software; the person who gathered and inputted the data; the person who owns the hardware; the person who commissioned and paid for the creation of the AI-written song; or someone else? Or could it possibly be the AI itself? The myriad legal questions presented have not been answered yet, but they are likely to be addressed sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, the interplay between human intelligence and Artificial Intelligence in the creative process is happening now, in real time.

This session is part of the Entertainment & Technology Law Conference

With the recent passage of the Music Modernization Act, and of course the ever-changing technological landscape, Music Biz’s Law Conference aims to give our attendees a road map to navigate the shifting legal path that lies ahead. This year’s multi-faceted program notably will feature the first keynote from Mitch Glazier since taking the helm as Chairman and CEO of the RIAA, and will bring law experts together with major players from all facets of the industry to discuss a range of issues including: the legalities of starting your own publishing company, the pros and cons of independent distribution versus working with a record label, managing celebrity estates, and how the use of AI in songwriting will affect copyright law.

Today’s program will be hosted by Fox Rothschild LLP and its entertainment law partners Ken Abdo, Lori Landew, Tim Mandelbaum and Michael Reinert who will emcee the program and answer any questions about the firm and its services.

Five CLE Credits have been approved by the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education.