AI for music, but with your own lyrics?

[pax-eterna]

Been thinking of having a play around with some of these AI music apps going around, however all of them seem to have onerous copyright and usage restrictions, unless you buy the "gazillion $ multi monthly pack with the lot"!

And even then you are restricted.

So my question is if you bring your own lyrics, and even a few chords of your own,can you still copyright the song? Even though these AI app owners claim all copyright and/or usage rights belong to them.

[Folderol]

Put it this way. They can afford much more expensive lawyers than you can.

[Martin Walker]

I think it's a minefield at the moment, especially as streaming platforms are beginning to shift their position on whether or not they will accept AI-assisted content.

Copyright of any sounds you create may well belong to the AI app companies themselves (even dedicated lawyers may get confused reading through the dozens of pages of terms and conditions and sometimes contradictory statements contained within them), and you wouldn't stand much of a chance against them if push come to shove.

[pax-eterna]

Put it this way. They can afford much more expensive lawyers than you can.

haha! too true.

[pax-eterna]

I think it's a minefield at the moment, especially as streaming platforms are beginning to shift their position on whether or not they will accept AI-assisted content.

Copyright of any sounds you create may well belong to the AI app companies themselves (even dedicated lawyers may get confused reading through the dozens of pages of terms and conditions and sometimes contradictory statements contained within them), and you wouldn't stand much of a chance against them if push come to shove.

thanks...yes, this is mirroring what I was suspecting!

[Drew Stephenson]

Copyright varies by country as well. In the UK a computer-generated work can be copyrighted. In the US, it can't, it needs to have a human author.
But what has not been litigated yet is how much human input vs how much AI input is required for something to be copyrightable.

[pax-eterna]

........But what has not been litigated yet is how much human input vs how much AI input is required for something to be copyrightable.

Exactly!

This is the nub of my question, thanks!

[Drew Stephenson]

Yep, we're going to need a few cases to play out through the courts (in various countries) because as it stands some of the claims made by the AI companies don't stack up. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out.

[MOF]

The only AI I use is ‘Drummer’ in Garage Band/Logic and I vary parameters and often create short sections at the end of each verse, chorus and breaks, so I don’t think it would flag as AI content.
Vocal replacement programs should be OK so long as you play or sing in the melody with your own lyrics.
I don’t know why anyone would want AI to write the whole song for them though!!!

[RichardT]

At the moment, I would comply with the restrictions imposed by the AI companies. Even though it’s not clear what can be copyrighted yet, at least you will have done due diligence, so to speak, by following their guidance.

[Drew Stephenson]

At the moment, I would comply with the restrictions imposed by the AI companies. Even though it’s not clear what can be copyrighted yet, at least you will have done due diligence, so to speak, by following their guidance.

Yeah, if you've signed up to a service then you'll be covered by their terms of service. So the output might not be covered by copyright but it would be by the TOS.
However I can't see what would then stop someone else entirely picking up an AI generated track and then copying it (in the USA at least).