AI-Assisted Music and Sync Licensing
Can an AI-Assisted Song Be Licensed for Film, Television, Advertising or Other Media?
Yes, potentially. The use of artificial intelligence during the creation of a song does not automatically prevent that song from being considered for sync licensing.
However, AI involvement can create additional questions concerning human authorship, copyright protection, ownership, commercial-use rights and clearance. For this reason, some music supervisors, studios, production companies and other licensees may choose not to accept music containing certain types of AI-generated material.
Songwriters Portal International believes the important issue is not simply:
“Was AI used?”
The more useful questions are:
What did the human songwriter create? What did AI create? And does the person submitting the song have the necessary rights to commercially license all of the material?
Not All AI-Assisted Songs Are the Same
There is an important difference between using AI as a creative or production tool and asking an AI system to generate most or all of a song.
For example, consider these situations:
Human-written song with AI production assistance
A songwriter writes the lyrics, melody and composition, but uses AI-assisted tools during production, mixing, arrangement or mastering.
Human-written lyrics with AI-generated music or vocals
The songwriter creates the lyrics but uses an AI system to generate some or all of the music, vocals or production.
Human-written music with AI-generated elements
The songwriter creates the underlying music but incorporates AI-generated vocals, instrumentation or other elements.
Primarily AI-generated song
An AI system generates most or all of the lyrics, composition, vocals and/or recording with limited human-authored expression.
These situations can present very different copyright and licensing considerations.
What Does the U.S. Copyright Office Say?
The U.S. Copyright Office has specifically addressed generative AI and human authorship.
Its current guidance states that using AI to assist a human creator does not by itself prevent copyright protection. The Copyright Office has also explained that including AI-generated material within a larger human-authored work does not automatically make the entire work ineligible for copyright.
However, copyright protection requires sufficient human authorship. Merely providing prompts to an AI system is generally not enough by itself to establish copyright in the resulting AI-generated expression.
This distinction is especially important for music because copyright can involve two separate works:
1. The musical composition — generally the music and lyrics.
2. The sound recording — the particular recorded performance/production of the song.
Those works may have different authors and different owners.
Why Might a Music Supervisor Decline an AI-Assisted Song?
A rejection does not necessarily mean that AI-assisted music is illegal or cannot be licensed.
A prospective licensee may simply have its own policy regarding AI-generated content. A company may also be concerned about whether it can confidently determine who owns or controls every element contained in the music.
For sync licensing, the buyer needs confidence that the necessary rights can be cleared.
That is why accurate disclosure is extremely important.
Trying to hide AI involvement could create a much larger problem than disclosing it.
Songwriters Portal's Approach
Songwriters Portal International does not treat every use of AI as equivalent.
When submitting music, members should accurately identify the nature of the AI involvement.
Songwriters Portal may distinguish between:
No AI Used
AI Assisted — Human-written song; AI used for production/arrangement
AI Assisted — Human-written lyrics; AI-generated music/vocals
AI Assisted — Human-written music; AI-generated vocals or other elements
AI Generated — Lyrics and music primarily generated by AI
Members submitting music containing AI-generated material must also confirm that they have the necessary commercial-use rights to the AI-generated material contained in the recording.
This information helps Songwriters Portal accurately represent the music when discussing potential licensing opportunities.
Commercial Rights and Copyright Are Not the Same Thing
This distinction is particularly important.
Having permission under an AI service's terms to commercially use an output does not necessarily mean that every AI-generated element qualifies for copyright protection under U.S. copyright law.
Likewise, a human-written portion of a song may potentially receive copyright protection even when other portions contain AI-generated material.
The Copyright Office looks at the human contribution when determining what authorship may be protected.
Therefore, songwriters should keep records showing what they actually created.
Keep Good Records
If AI was involved in your music, Songwriters Portal recommends keeping documentation of your creative process.
Useful records can include your original lyrics, demos, melody or chord recordings, project files, stems, earlier versions of the song, dates of creation, information identifying the AI service used, and the commercial-use terms applicable when the material was generated.
You may never be asked for all of this information.
But if a serious licensing opportunity develops and questions arise, good records can make rights clearance considerably easier.
Will Songwriters Portal Guarantee That an AI-Assisted Song Will Be Accepted?
No.
Every music supervisor, production company, studio, advertiser, network, streaming service or other licensee may establish its own requirements concerning AI-generated or AI-assisted music.
Songwriters Portal cannot guarantee that a particular buyer will accept AI-assisted material.
What we can do is clearly identify the nature of the AI involvement so prospective licensees can make an informed clearance decision.
Should I Describe My Song Simply as “AI-Assisted”?
Whenever possible, be more specific.
For example:
AI Disclosure: Lyrics and composition were written by the songwriter. AI tools were used for production and arrangement. The submitter has confirmed the commercial-use rights necessary to license the submitted recording.
That provides a prospective licensee with much more useful information than simply stating:
“Contains AI.”
The Bottom Line
AI-assisted does not automatically mean unlicensable.
The important questions are the amount and nature of human authorship, which elements were generated by AI, who owns or controls the composition and master recording, whether the submitter possesses the necessary commercial rights, and whether the prospective licensee's policies permit the particular use of AI.
Songwriters Portal International requires accurate disclosure because our goal is not simply to get a song in front of a music supervisor.
Our goal is to present music that can be properly evaluated, cleared and licensed.
For example:
Important: Do not describe your song as “No AI Used” simply because you personally wrote the lyrics. If AI generated the music, vocals, instrumentation, production or other material contained in the submitted recording, disclose that involvement accurately.
Staff