We are the music makers

Topic

Artist-rights

  • The DOJ says AI training is fair use. Music's best arguments were never about training

    The US Justice Department has told the court in the New York Times' case against OpenAI that training AI models on copyrighted text is fair use, and it goes out of its way to reject the "market dilution" theory the music industry leans on. It leaves outputs, data sourcing and identity open, and that is where artists' claims are strongest.

    Artist rightsvia US Department of Justice (copy hosted by MusicTechPolicy)

  • Jason Isbell's class action against Suno is about identity, not copyright

    Jason Isbell, David Lowery, Guy Forsyth and Eduardo Calle have sued Suno under state publicity laws and Illinois' biometric privacy law, not copyright. They say Suno's model knows musicians by name and voice. If the theory holds, it gives artists who don't own their masters a claim of their own, though as drafted it favours the famous.

    Artist rightsvia US District Court for the District of Massachusetts (via Music Business Worldwide)

  • The EU AI Act's training rules are now enforceable. What musicians can actually do with them

    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.

    Artist rightsvia European Commission

  • Kenya's High Court has barred MCSK from collecting royalties. Who pays musicians now?

    Kenya's High Court has barred the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) from collecting royalties while it appeals the regulator's refusal to license it, weeks after another society, KAMP, had its licence suspended, and days before the regulator dissolved KAMP's board. Collection now runs through one licensed society, and some of the money is frozen. A draft copyright bill would change how a suspension like this works.

    Artist rightsvia Kenya Copyright Board (copy hosted by EIFL)

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