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BMI & AI: What Music Creators Need to Know

BMI believes that AI presents both challenges and opportunities. 

When used ethically, AI can help foster creativity and expand economic opportunities in creative industries. However, unlicensed AI models can negatively impact the value of human creativity if there is no compensation for the creators whose work made these innovations possible.

That is why BMI strongly supports a human-centric approach to AI that recognizes its value but urges ethical use of copyrighted works and demands respect for the unique value of songwriters, artists, creators, and performers.

Our Position
  • Supports IconCopyright should protect human creativity.
  • Supports Icon Creators should have the choice to allow their copyrighted works to be used by AI companies.
  • Supports Icon Creators should be compensated when their copyrighted works are used in AI systems.
  • Supports Icon AI-generated content should be labeled for consumers.
  • Supports Icon A federal right of publicity is needed to protect a person’s name, image, likeness, and voice.

Advocacy

BMI is closely monitoring developments on the artificial intelligence front. We’re tracking the U.S. Copyright Office’s guidance on registering works with AI-generated content and agree with its positions to date.

However, there are still many unknowns in this rapidly evolving area, and we are waiting for more guidance from the Office as this field develops. We are also working with our music industry partners to understand their positions on AI-generated content in musical works, and we are holding listening sessions with our affiliates to discuss the opportunities and challenges of AI.

Legislative Action

BMI continues to be active on Capitol Hill, meeting with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to highlight the potential benefits and risks of AI technologies for our affiliates. We have also supported the following critical initiatives and bills, all meant to value human creativity and the ethical use of AI:

  • March 2023: Signed the Human Artistry Campaign, which advocates for AI use that empowers and supports human creativity and accomplishment.
  • June 2023: Submitted comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on its AI Accountability Policy, advocating for the promotion of human-centric, trustworthy, and ethical AI development and deployment.
  • July 2023: Submitted comments to the Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP), stating that the development and deployment of AI systems should be done responsibly, ethically and with respect to songwriters, artists, creators, and performers.
  • December 2023: Submitted public comments to the United States Copyright Office (USCO) calling for the ethical use of AI with respect to music creators, noting that responsible AI innovation and deployment requires a human-centric approach.
  • February 2024: Endorsed the No AI Fraud Act. This bill aims to establish federal protections for voice and likeness, which are needed to protect songwriters, composers and artists from AI-generated deepfakes and voice clones.
  • March 2024: Endorsed and supported the passage of the Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act, leading the way in protecting artists and songwriters from misuses of AI voice-cloning technology.
  • April 2024: Endorsed the Generative AI Disclosure Act, which is a critical step to safeguard creators' rights and work by requiring AI developers to disclose any copyrighted materials they use to train their systems.
  • May 2024: Signed the Digital Creators Coalition (DCC) letter on International AI and Copyright, supporting U.S. bilateral and multilateral engagement advancing human-centric and responsible AI, while promoting creators and protecting copyright globally in a manner that respects copyright law.
  • July 2024: Endorsed the COPIED Act, which will establish much-needed standards and accountability around AI deep fake abuses and will put control of intellectual property back where it belongs--in the hands of those who create it. We stand ready to work with these senators to pass this important legislation.
  • September 2024: Endorsed the NO FAKES Act introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to protect the voice and visual likenesses of music creators from AI-generated deepfakes and cloning without their consent. BMI previously endorsed the legislation when it was first introduced in the U.S. Senate in July 2024.

BMI’s FAQs

BMI is always working to ensure that our affiliates are compensated for the public performances of their musical works. Given the rapidly evolving nature of AI, we will continue to build on BMI’s AI policy based on the latest legislation, litigation, and other music industry developments.

Please check back for continuing updates on BMI’s AI policy and FAQs below.



What determines if a work is fully or partially AI-generated?

  • Fully AI-generated musical works are works autonomously created by a computer algorithm running on a machine. This includes musical content created with prompts only.
  • Partially AI-generated works include both human authorship and AI-generated content.

How are AI systems trained to create music?

Most AI companies are using models trained on human-created works. While some models are trained ethically through licensing or works for hire, many are trained by scraping copyrighted materials without permission. BMI believes in the ethical training of AI systems, meaning that all music creators should have choice whether their works are used in those systems, and they should be compensated if they are used. A resource to learn more is FairlyTrained.org.

BMI reserves the right to remove works from the BMI repertoire if it is determined to be an AI work or is otherwise improperly registered.

Are fully AI-generated musical works copyrightable?

No. Even if multiple prompts are used to refine the result, the resulting music is not currently considered eligible for copyright.

Are partially AI-generated musical works copyrightable?

The U.S. Copyright Office determines this on a case-by-case basis, evaluating the level of human creativity and contribution. Copyright will only protect the human-authored aspects of the work. For more information see the U.S. Copyright Office’s registration guidance at https://copyright.gov/ai/ai_policy_guidance.pdf.

Can I register fully AI-generated works with BMI?

No. BMI does not accept registrations for fully AI-generated works, as those types of works are not considered copyrightable under current U.S. law.

Can I register partially AI-generated works with BMI?

Not at this time. Based on our current research and analysis, BMI expects to allow those works to be registered in the future since there is a human creation component to partially AI-generated music. We are still determining the best way to capture this information in our systems and this will continue to evolve as we refine BMI’s AI policies.

Please see the U.S. Copyright Office Registration Guidance for more information on partially AI-generated works (https://www.copyright.gov/ai/), and be sure to come back to this page for continuing updates on our AI policies, including additional guidance on how to register these types of works in future.

What do I do if I’ve already registered an AI-generated work with BMI?

Please email reviseworks@bmi.com and a BMI representative will assist you in removing the work.

Are partially AI-generated works paid by BMI?

Not at this time. We are closely monitoring guidance from the U.S. Copyright Office on partially AI-generated works as we build on and refine BMI’s AI policy. Please continue to check this page for any relevant legislative developments and updates. For more information on royalties and registering your works, please go to- https://www.bmi.com/creators/royalty/general_information.

On an AI-generated work, can the AI company be considered an author?

Not at this time. Based on current guidance from the Copyright Office, only humans can be considered authors or writers of a work. Therefore, affiliates cannot currently register an AI company or the owner or creator of the AI tool as a writer. Similarly, an AI company would not be able to register as a publisher of a work unless a human creator assigns their publishing rights to the AI company.

BMI reserves the right to remove works from the BMI repertoire if it is determined to be an AI work or is otherwise improperly registered.

If my AI-generated work is performed internationally where AI works are given copyright protection, will BMI pay me for performance of the work?

BMI will continue to follow Copyright Office guidance on U.S. law. However, BMI is actively engaging in discussions with foreign PROs and closely monitoring developments in the industry as well as the applicable laws in each country.

Resources Icon

RESOURCES

We’ll continue to add educational resources, upcoming events and tools to help you navigate the ever-changing world of AI, so please check back.



LEARN MORE

Get the latest updates from the U.S. Copyright Office at https://www.copyright.gov/ai/.

To learn more about the Copyright Office’s initiative to examine copyright law and policy issues raised by AI technology, watch Webinar: Registration Guidance for Works Containing AI-generated Content | U.S. Copyright Office

Some companies are developing generative AI music models that only use copyrighted works with permission, which is known as “ethical AI.” To learn more about ethical AI, and the companies that are taking a more consent-based approach to training, visit Fairly Trained.

EVENTS

BMI and BMAC Present a Panel on AI’s Opportunities and Challenges for Music Creators – Read more and watch highlights from the event.

GET INVOLVED

Learn more about the Human Artistry Campaign at https://www.humanartistrycampaign.com/. Consider signing the petition in support of fundamental AI principles for the responsible use of artificial intelligence.

You can sign the “Statement on AI Training,” which rejects the unlicensed training of generative AI models on creative works.

Check Back for Continuing Updates