ASCAP has submitted comments to the U.S. Copyright Office on issues raised by generative AI.

The performance-rights organization's goal is to assist policymakers in understanding the stakes for music creators. Among their comments, the PRO stated:

When technology is used in a way that takes aim at human creators, ignores their rights or devalues their work, that is not innovation.
The AI industry can and should obtain consent and pay fair market value for copyrighted musical works before using them in the development of AI models.
We emphatically oppose any compulsory licensing requirements; we strongly oppose a government-mandated licensing scheme, which would eliminate consent and would be prone to inaccuracies and inefficiencies and would undercompensate creators.”

ASCAP outlined steps the Copyright Office should take to bring about meaningful voluntary licensing negotiations between AI companies and rightsholders, including creating a federal right of publicity and requiring that “AI developers collect, retain and make available information concerning all copyrighted material used in any stage of the development of AI tools.”

Explained the PRO, “We do not believe there is any realistic scenario under which the unauthorized and non-personal use of copyrighted works to train generative AI models would constitute fair use.”

In July ASCAP came up with a set of six AI principles.

The Copyright Office is taking comments until 11/29 and will be posting them here.

No one has yet made an official statement about the AI Bon Scott singing "Back in Black."