Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. caused a stir a few months ago.
Mason announced that the prestigious Grammy Awards would finally accept music made with artificial intelligence. At first people were confused, but Mason later explained that this meant that only humans could submit works for the awards, but AI could be used in the creative process.
“It's a fine line, but it will evolve,” he told TechCrunch about how the Academy evaluates the use of artificial intelligence in music. “Hopefully we can continue to celebrate human creativity at the highest level.”
The rise of AI is engulfing the arts as much as it is Silicon Valley. Everyone is wondering: Will AI replace me? In music, what about copyright? What about royalties? What about the effort I put into my work? Mason says it's true that there is concern across the industry. Some are scared and nervous, while others are excited and optimistic. Some artists are sending cease and desist letters to get unauthorized deepfakes taken down, while others are open to AI versions as long as they're paid.
“I truly believe that AI should not have a place in music,” musician Devante, the Artist told TechCrunch. “AI should only be used for simple, everyday tasks. As an artist, the idea of 'AI is taking over the world' is very real these days. Music is my world, and now it's very easy for someone to impersonate what I've spent my whole life building.”
“I think a lot of musicians, especially those who aren't 'successful', have a pessimistic view of AI,” a musician who also works for a major tech company told TechCrunch, requesting anonymity because his employer did not give him permission to speak on the subject. “Just as the Industrial Revolution didn't lead to widespread unemployment, rather the opposite, more creators, especially musicians, need to change their mindset and embrace AI in a positive way.”
AI is already being used in the music industry, primarily in the mastering and equalization processes, Mason said. Right now, the biggest concerns in the industry are making sure that proper authorization is obtained to use artists' work, that humans are credited separately from the AI, and that people are fairly compensated, whether that be for copyright or the likeness of artists that the AI is trained on. There's also the issue of ensuring these protections across the industry.
Mason co-founded the Human Artistry Campaign to address some of these issues and advocate for stronger guardrails around the use of AI.
He is involved with the Elvis Act passed in Tennessee, which strengthens protections against unauthorized use of artists' voices, and he also supports the Anti-AI Fraud and Anti-Counterfeiting Act, which would protect creators' likenesses from AI-based counterfeiting.
It's an urgent issue that's moving faster than the law. This month, Donald Trump found himself in a tricky legal situation after he used unauthorized AI images of Taylor Swift in a promotion for his presidential campaign. TechCrunch reported at the time that the Elvis Act is so new that there's no precedent for how it could be used to protect an artist like Swift in a situation like this. (Mason declined to comment on the matter at the time.)
The push for more legislation within the music industry is quite interesting given the fact that this issue has generated a lot of debate in Silicon Valley. Some AI purveyors in the US prefer a more laissez-faire attitude towards nascent technology and believe that too many guardrails will stifle innovation. Others, on the other hand, look at AI from a societal perspective and want protections against the effects that unchecked AI could have on people. Governments across the US, and even at the national level, are currently addressing this issue.
Artist Devante feels there is a disconnect between what is being done to regulate AI and what should be done. He would like to see AI development slow down, or innovations that can help protect music, such as types of filters that can distinguish between AI vocals and human vocals.
“There are still concerns regarding our industry and creative community,” Mason said. “There is uncertainty because the safeguards do not appear to be in place.”
AI was barely a topic of discussion in 2020, when Mason first became president of the Recording Academy. But around 2023, everything started to change. A deepfake song by Drake and The Weeknd, featuring trained and unauthorized AI vocals, went viral. Fans loved it, and the song's creators spoke about possibly submitting it for the Grammys. The Academy had to respond quickly to an issue it had never dealt with before. “From that point on, we had to pay close attention to it,” Mason said.
The song was deemed Grammy-ineligible and dropped, but its legacy lives on. Ironically, the most high-profile AI incident since then also involved Drake. During his feud with Kendrick Lamar, Drake tried to diss Lamar by using an AI vocal from deceased hip-hop icon Tupac without permission, and was quickly threatened with a lawsuit by Tupac's estate for using his likeness without permission.
Meanwhile, Drake's disgruntled producer Metro Boomin created an AI song called “BBL Drizzy,” but fans raved about it even after they found out it was an AI. Mason said consumers don't necessarily know it's an AI, and they don't necessarily look at the credits to find out if it's an AI. Mason said many consumers don't seem to care much about whether music has AI in it, which is another reason why creator protection is so important.
“I don't think people care about what they consume,” agreed artist Devante. “It's like a situation of, 'It's not about me, so it's not about me.'”
At the same time, Mason believes humanity will evolve to coexist with AI, just as it has adapted to nearly every other new technology. Years ago, artists had to learn how to use synthesizers and how to sample music; the latter was particularly problematic, with some artists sampling other people's music without permission. Eventually, the industry went back and came up with a standard way to assign credits and royalties.
“We intend to use new technology to make amazing music,” Mason said of AI, “but we want to make sure it's done in a way that's fair to human creators.”
This article has been updated to clarify Drake and The Weeknd's AI song submitted for the Grammys.