Music publishers are warning Australian policymakers against weakening copyright protections for commercial AI training, arguing that creators should retain control over whether their work is used and whether they are paid.
In a report published October 19, The Guardian reported that the International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) says AI systems have reproduced lyrics associated with Australian artists including Kylie Minogue, G Flip and Nick Cave. The group says it presented examples to support its concerns; the claims are part of a wider policy debate and are not a court finding that resolves the legality of any specific model’s training.
Why Australia has become a focus
Australian lawmakers are reviewing how existing copyright rules apply to AI development. Technology companies have argued that broad access to data is important for training models, while rights holders say commercial use of protected songs and lyrics should require clear authorization or a lawful licensing route.
The dispute is especially consequential for music because a single recording can involve several distinct rights: the sound recording, the underlying composition, lyrics, performances and sometimes samples. A model-training policy can affect publishers, labels, performers and songwriters differently depending on what material is used and how local law applies.
What this means for artists and labels
For catalogue owners, the immediate business issue is documentation. Rights databases, publishing splits, recording ownership and licensing history should be accurate enough to support negotiations and any future claims. Artists should also distinguish between a platform’s terms for uploading a song and a separate permission for training an AI model on that song.
For distributors, delivery permission should not be treated as a universal AI-training licence. Contracts need to spell out whether rights include model training, voice or likeness simulation, derivative generation and downstream commercial uses.
No final policy outcome yet
The Australian debate remains contested. Any eventual change would depend on legislation and its details, and it would be premature to assume a new exception has already taken effect. Rights holders, AI developers and policymakers are still arguing over how to balance innovation, investment and creative control.
Source
Illustrative image of a musician working on a track. Photo by BandLab via Unsplash.