The Future of Music: Grimes is Pioneering AI Collaboration & Royalty Sharing

Challenging Copyright Norms: Grimes Shares Royalties with AI-Generated Music Creators

The Gist

• Grimes offered AI artists the use of her voice without worrying about copyright or legal enforcement.

• She’ll split 50% royalties for any successful AI-generated song that uses her voice.

• Her announcement follows the removal of an AI-generated song using voices of Drake and The Weeknd, as their representative claimed it violated copyright law.

• The US Copyright Office has not yet settled on a clear stance regarding copyright protections for works containing AI-generated elements.

• Grimes will provide tools which simulate her voice and upload stems and samples for training purposes.

• Grimes is essentially licensing her name, image, and likeness, which many NCAA athletes have monetized since the Supreme Court decision in National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Alston.

• Grimes’ collaboration approach differs from artists like Drake, and NCAA athletes have shown how lucrative licensing their likeness can be.

More Detail

Grimes announced that AI artists can use her voice without concern for copyright or legal enforcement.

Grimes made this announcement following the removal of an AI-generated song from streaming platforms, which used simulated voices of Drake and The Weeknd. Universal Music Group (UMG), representing both artists, demanded the removal after "Heart on My Sleeve" accumulated over 15 million listens on TikTok and 600,000 on Spotify. UMG claimed that publishing a song based on its artists' voices represented "a breach of our agreements and a violation of copyright law."

Drake also made his position clear with AI in a soon-deleted Instagram Story, writing in response to another AI-generated song that “This is the final straw AI”.

Grimes, however, adopts a much more open approach, emphasizing that she has no label or legal bindings.

Grimes has been receptive to AI for years. In 2020, she worked with mood music startup Endel to launch an AI-generated lullaby app, creating "a better baby sleeping situation" for her son, X Æ A-XII. She even speculated in 2019 that generative AI might signal "the end of art, human art," adding, "Once there's actually AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), they're going to be so much better at making art than us."

Generative AI is already causing disruptions in various industries, including visual art, writing, online media, and voiceover work. The sudden emergence and rapid advancements of AI content creation within the past year have sparked numerous legal, ethical, and copyright debates. These issues will likely intensify before society and copyright laws reach a consensus. In March, the US Copyright Office stated that AI art, including music, originating from a text prompt could not be copyrighted. However, they added that AI-generated art could be granted copyright protections if a human can prove that they contributed a meaningful amount of work.

Grimes' royalty-splitting offer would apply to any "successful" AI song using her voice, though it remains unclear where the cutoff lies. Regardless, she will support her offer with tools for artists, promising, "We're making a program that should simulate my voice well, but we could also upload stems and samples for people to train their own."

Pioneering AI Collaboration with Her Name & Likeness

Grimes' decision is a forward-looking move that embraces the rapidly changing landscape of the music industry. As generative AI advances, it will become a prominent part of the creative process, blurring the lines between human and machine-generated art. By openly inviting AI creators to use her voice and share royalties, Grimes is fostering a spirit of collaboration and setting a precedent that other artists might follow in the future.

Her approach echoes the recent changes in college sports, where NCAA athletes can now profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). Just as Grimes is taking control of her voice and the way it is used in AI-generated music, NCAA athletes can benefit from their hard work and talent, helping them monetize their personal brand.

As the music industry evolves, Grimes' royalty-sharing model could pave the way for a more collaborative and innovative environment. Artists could increasingly work with AI-generated content or partner with AI creators, while still maintaining control over their creative output and reaping the financial benefits.

Ultimately, the AI genie is not going back in the bottle, and Grimes decided she would rather partner with AI and monetize it, as opposed to combat them like Drake. Time will tell if more musicians follow her lead.