Sony develops solution to identify copyrighted music used in AI-generated songs: Here’s how it works

Sony has reportedly developed a technology that can identify the underlying music used in AI-generated songs. This tool could enable songwriters to seek compensation from AI developers who used their work without permission. The Japanese tech giant believes that the technology could help create a system that distributes revenue from AI-generated music to original songwriters based on their contribution.The development comes amid a growing number of cases in which AI developers are accused of using copyrighted music, video, and writing without permission to train their systems. In the music industry, AI-generated songs using the voices of well-known singers have already been distributed online.According to a report by Nikkei Asia, Sony’s technology analyses which songs were used in training and in generating AI music and can quantify the contribution of each original work. For example, it can determine that "30% of the music used by the Beatles and 10% by Queen,”the report notes.If an AI developer agrees to cooperate, Sony Group will obtain data by connecting to the developer's base model system. When collaboration is unavailable, the tool will estimate the work's originality by comparing AI-generated tracks with existing music.In Japan, copyright law protects music rights in two categories: copyrights held by songwriters, composers, and music publishers, and neighbouring rights held by performers and record producers. Sony Group owns major music labels and a publisher and controls half of the late Michael Jackson's catalogue.Music production companies and publishers collect royalties when songs are used in movies, TV shows, or streaming services, and distribute them to rights holders. Identifying music used by AI for training and content generation could allow rights holders to collect royalties from AI developers and help prevent copyright infringement.The technology was developed by Sony AI, part of Sony Group's research and development division, and a related paper was accepted at an international conference. The division also developed a method to prevent AI from imitating anime style and character designs, including those of Studio Ghibli.Sony predicts that AI development companies will incorporate the technology into their own models and that content companies will use it in licensing negotiations. However, it remains unclear how proactively AI developers will adopt such technology. Some in the industry say AI companies prioritise improving model performance and show limited interest in preventing intellectual property infringement, the report noted.