Music Creator Groups provide submission in response to Canadian government consultation on generative AI

The Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC), Songwriters Association of Canada (SAC), and Société professionnelle des auteurs et des compositeurs du Québec (SPACQ) submitted comments on September 14th in response to the Canadian government “Consultation on Canadian Guardrails for Generative AI – Code of Practice”.

In their submission, the Music Creator Groups draw attention to the economic harm caused by AI programmers who refuse to respect the legal rights of intellectual property owners. The Canadian music creator groups seeks to ensure that the proposed Code of Practice respects music creators’ rights. The group suggests that the code ensure that consent be obtained from rights holders before works are injested by generative AL programs, and that credit and compensation be provided to music creators for generative AI uses. Additionally, identifying authors, performers, and all stakeholders involved in the musical works or sound recordings used by the AI system must be in place so that those parties can be remunerated.

Importantly, the submission draws attention to the use of terminology that humanizes the technological process. This includes the use of the terms “trained” and “novel”, and suggests more accurate terms.

The submission is the latest by music creator organisations, associations, and guilds in many countries to inform policy makers in regard to legislation and regulation at the intersection of intellectual property rights, creators, and technological innovation. The full submission can be read here.