AIE asserts seven principles for the development of Generative AI in a sustainable music ecosystem
In the pursuit of balance between technological progress and the protection of artists’ rights and creative integrity
Madrid, 12 de diciembre de 2025.- It is undeniable that we are immersed in a moment of rapid growth of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), both in terms of opportunities and challenges, as well as regarding its impact on the community of performing artists and on AIE, as the organisation that manages the rights of that collective.
The adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems and tools in the creation and interpretation of music requires an urgent and profound debate on the protection of the rights of creators, who make music possible. So far, the proliferation of these tools has occurred anarchically, without regard to whether rights are being violated and without adhering to the fundamental ethical norms and principles that we have established as a society.
This question is important because the ability of these tools to generate compositions, artistic performances, recreate voices and images, and manipulate creative and personality traits without adhering to any legal framework poses risks that go beyond the economic, directly affecting the cultural integrity and artistic legacy of our societies and the ethical principles that should govern any technological innovation.
For this reason, AIE advocates for seven guiding principles for the development and implementation of AI for a sustainable music ecosystem:
1. Awareness as a society about the value of music and human creativity.
– All agents in the value chain (developers, platforms/tools, consumers) must assume their responsibility in the use and adoption of generative AI.
– Measures such as labeling AI-generated content at both the metadata and user interface levels must be considered.
2. Specific consent and authorization from artists regarding the uses of AI, with the intervention of performer collective management organizations.
– AI companies must request specific and prior permission to use material protected by author rights and related rights.
3. Enhanced protection of personal attributes (voice, image, personality, styles, etc.).
– It is essential to strengthen legal frameworks against unauthorized voice/style cloning and image use, as well as the generation of deepfakes and other types of digital manipulations, impersonations, and fraud.
4. Compensation for the use of protected content in training (input) and in the result (output).
– Performers must be remunerated for the use of their fixed performances as input information for AI systems. A possible model would be the Extended Collective License granted by performer collective management organizations.
– Additionally, the result generated by AI systems competes directly with the creative content of performers, so the damage caused must be equitably compensated.
5. Balance in the negotiating power of performers against other agents.
– The power of negotiation and management must be articulated through collective management organizations to balance the negotiating power of artists against other agents in the value chain.
6. Transparency.
– AI model developers and AI platforms/tools must have obligations to provide information about the protected material used for training (input) and content generation (output) and how their algorithms operate.
7. International coordination and cooperation to address legal differences between countries that, in fact, result in the lack of protection for performers.
– It is also necessary to establish and apply a series of internationally agreed principles to address extraterritorial issues wherever necessary.
These principles will guide AIE’s work in defending artists’ rights before legislators, in negotiations with the industry, and in its external communications.
Rowing in favor of technology
As we have always done, AIE positions itself in favor of technological advancement, which should be a way for social progress and not an end in itself.
In the case of generative AI, we believe that, like other advances in the past, it can contribute to multiplying human capabilities in many areas, including musical creation and interpretation, as long as its development and adoption respects ethical principles, values and protects human creativity, and reinforces cultural and linguistic diversity.
Technological innovation and artistic talent must coexist on a basis of trustworthiness, mutual respect, transparency, consent, and fair and equitable compensation. Only through responsible implementation will we be able to move towards a future where culture in general and music, in particular, continue to be essential pillars of the well-being of our society