We are the music makers

Topic

Artist-rights

  • Holly+ gave a voice clone a constitution. The consent tools that followed settled for an opt-out box

    In July 2021 Holly Herndon released Holly+, a voice instrument trained on her isolated vocals, with a plan for token holders to approve official uses and share the money. A year later she and Mat Dryhurst co-founded Spawning, whose "Have I Been Trained?" opt-out became one of the most widely used opt-out tools in AI. The first idea asked permission up front; the second asked artists to object. Five years on, the first is still the better template.

    AIvia Holly Herndon

  • Mexico now requires performers' consent, and a contract, before anyone clones their voice with AI

    Mexico changed its Federal Copyright Law and Federal Labor Law in May 2026. A performer's voice and image are now protected against AI clones, a payment for one use no longer counts as consent to others, and work contracts must set the terms and pay for any AI use. This is already law, not a bill, but the exceptions are worded more loosely than the headlines suggest.

    Artist rightsvia Diario Oficial de la Federación

  • Digital-replica laws for musicians: what California, New York and Illinois actually require

    California, New York, Illinois and Tennessee are among the US states with AI-era rules on copies of a performer's voice, and they work in different ways. California and New York kill vague replica clauses in contracts, California also requires estate consent for replicas of dead performers, and Illinois makes it unlawful to knowingly distribute an unauthorised replica. Here is what each statute says, where they differ, and a checklist for your next contract.

    Artist rightsvia Office of the Governor of California

  • Denmark's deepfake bill would make whoever posts a voice clone prove they had consent

    Denmark's culture minister tabled bill L 49 on 8 Oct 2026. It would bar sharing realistic digital imitations of a person's voice, face or other features, or of a performer's performance, without consent, from 1 Jan 2027. It is not law yet. The detail that matters most for singers is in the explanatory notes: the person who publishes the imitation has to prove consent.

    Artist rightsvia Folketingstidende (Danish Parliament)

  • Bandcamp's AI ban, nine months on: a good rule with no visible process

    Bandcamp banned music made "wholly or in substantial part" by AI in January. Since then, a project whose bio credited Suno stayed up until a newsroom asked about it, and Boy George's AI-assisted song was pulled with his profile. A human-only store is worth having, but artists need a published standard, notice and an appeal route.

    Industryvia Bandcamp

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