https://wearethemusicmakers.co/latest Music tech and AI in music: the news that matters, what we think about it, and a directory of the tools. en-us Sun, 25 Oct 2026 03:30:00 GMT https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/eu-ai-act-for-musicians https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/eu-ai-act-for-musicians The EU AI Act does three things a musician should know about: it makes general-purpose AI providers keep a copyright policy and publish a summary of their training content, it requires deepfake audio to be disclosed and AI output to carry machine-readable marks, and it points rightsholders to the EU text-and-data-mining opt-out. This guide sets out what each rule says, when it applies, and what it does not do, from the regulation text and European Commission pages read on 24 Oct 2026. Sun, 25 Oct 2026 03:30:00 GMT We are the music makers eu-ai-actai-musicartist-rightscopyrightai-training https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/opt-out-of-ai-training https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/opt-out-of-ai-training EU law lets you reserve your music from commercial text and data mining, but only if you say so in a way a machine can read. Here is what the law says, what robots.txt, TDMRep and written notices each do, where they fall short, and the order we would set them up in. Sat, 24 Oct 2026 06:30:00 GMT We are the music makers aiai-trainingopt-outcopyrightartist-rights https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/ai-training-data-licensing-explained https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/ai-training-data-licensing-explained So far, every deal that pays for training AI on music runs through an intermediary (a label, publisher, distributor, collecting society or sample marketplace), and almost none publishes a rate. Here is how the four deal structures work, what the law says in the EU, UK, US and India as of 23 Oct 2026, and what an independent artist can actually claim. Fri, 23 Oct 2026 06:30:00 GMT We are the music makers ai-musicai-traininglicensingcopyrightroyalties https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/arooj-aftab-two-payment-rule-ai-training https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/arooj-aftab-two-payment-rule-ai-training The Grammy-winning singer says musicians are owed twice, once for training and again for every new track an AI makes from what it learned. That goes further than the union statement she was resharing, and further than CISAC's president, but one collective licence in Sweden already pays at both points. Fri, 23 Oct 2026 03:30:00 GMT We are the music makers artist-rightsai-musicai-traininglicensingumaw https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/australia-ai-copyright-outlier-icmp-warning https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/australia-ai-copyright-outlier-icmp-warning The International Confederation of Music Publishers says 62 countries have weighed loosening copyright for AI training and Australia now looks like the only one still considering it. It says Gemini can reproduce lyrics by Kylie Minogue, G-Flip and Nick Cave. A parliamentary committee is due to report by 30 November, so Australian artists have weeks to be heard. Mon, 19 Oct 2026 06:30:00 GMT We are the music makers artist-rightscopyrightai-trainingaustraliapolicy https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/brazil-ai-bill-pl-2338-training-opt-out-remuneration-stalled https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/brazil-ai-bill-pl-2338-training-opt-out-remuneration-stalled Brazil's Senate passed PL 2338/2023 in December 2024 with a copyright chapter that lets rightsholders forbid AI training on their work and requires AI developers to pay for what they use. The Chamber of Deputies' special committee has held no meetings in 2026, and the rapporteur now expects a vote only after the October elections. Thu, 15 Oct 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers artist-rightsaibrazilcopyrightai-trainingregulation https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/soundcloud-ai-terms-read-the-clause-before-you-upload https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/soundcloud-ai-terms-read-the-clause-before-you-upload In February 2024 SoundCloud added a line to its terms letting uploads "inform, train, develop" AI. When artists noticed in May 2025, it replaced the line with a narrower promise: no training of generative models that "aim to replicate or synthesize" your voice, music or likeness without opt-in. The fix is real, but it is narrower than it sounds. Here is how to read clauses like it. Sat, 26 Sep 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers artist-rightssoundcloudai-trainingcontracts https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/professional-sound-alliance-sound-designers-ai-scraping https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/09/professional-sound-alliance-sound-designers-ai-scraping The Professional Sound Alliance launched on 24 Sep 2026 to fight "Data Piracy" and "Sync Piracy" of sound effects. Two of its founding libraries already sell AI training data, so this is a campaign for licensed AI on their terms. The open question is whether the recordists behind those libraries share in it. Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:30:00 GMT We are the music makers artist-rightsai-trainingsound-designlicensing https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/eu-ai-act-training-summaries-what-musicians-can-do https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/eu-ai-act-training-summaries-what-musicians-can-do From 2 August 2026 the Commission's AI Office can fine general-purpose AI providers that skip their copyright policy or their public summary of training content. The rules give musicians a reference point and a complaint route, but not a list of their songs or a payment. Here is what you can check, what you can reserve, and where the gaps are. Fri, 28 Aug 2026 09:30:00 GMT We are the music makers artist-rightseu-ai-actcopyrightai-trainingai-music https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/do-not-train-registries-opt-outs-musicians https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/08/do-not-train-registries-opt-outs-musicians EU law lets you reserve your music from commercial AI training, and German courts have now said what a valid reservation looks like. Opt-outs are worth setting up, but treat them as evidence for later rather than a lock. Here is a realistic setup, from robots.txt to your collecting society, and where it stops working. Sat, 22 Aug 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers aiartist-rightscopyrightai-trainingopt-out https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/06/jasrac-ai-songs-human-parts-article-30-4 https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/06/jasrac-ai-songs-human-parts-article-30-4 Japan's biggest music rights society will only manage the human-made parts of a song, and songwriters must say which parts AI made when they register. It is also asking for Article 30-4, which lets AI firms train on works without permission, to give creators a choice. That puts Japan's songwriters further from a say over training than their counterparts in the EU or the UK. Sat, 13 Jun 2026 05:30:00 GMT We are the music makers artist-rightsaijapanjasraccopyrightai-training https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/06/kogon-v-google-lyria-youtube-licence https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/06/kogon-v-google-lyria-youtube-licence In Kogon v. Google, independent musicians allege Lyria 3 was trained on their music. Google's motion to dismiss says the YouTube terms they accepted already license the conduct alleged. Whatever the judge decides, it will help settle whether uploading a song also hands over AI-training rights. Mon, 08 Jun 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers artist-rightsgoogleyoutubeai-training https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/03/uk-ai-copyright-opt-out-dropped-australia https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/03/uk-ai-copyright-opt-out-dropped-australia On 18 March 2026 the UK government said a copyright exception letting AI firms train on work unless creators opt out is no longer its preferred option. Musicians won this one through public pressure and votes in Parliament, but the government hasn't ruled the idea out, and seven months later an opt-out model is on the table in Australia. Wed, 18 Mar 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers artist-rightscopyrightai-traininguk https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2025/03/silent-album-is-this-what-we-want-artist-activism https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2025/03/silent-album-is-this-what-we-want-artist-activism Is This What We Want?, out on 25 February 2025, is 12 recordings of empty studios and performance spaces, credited to more than 1,000 musicians, whose track titles spell out a message to the UK government. It landed on the day the government's AI copyright consultation closed. As a piece of artist activism it is unusually well designed, and the design is worth copying. Sat, 01 Mar 2025 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers artist-rightscopyrightai-traininguk