Roughly 30 members of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Society (ASCAP) will meet with members of Congress Thursday to talk about the threats AI poses to the industry as part of the organization’s “Stand with Songwriters” advocacy day.
“We’re in the midst of this. This is a situation that has to be dealt with, and it’s moving so quickly,” ASCAP president Paul Williams told The Hill.
To match the quickly innovating world of AI, Congress must also act fast, he said.
“We need to have an awareness of our needs. We’re protecting the lives and livelihoods of almost a million members and across the board and the music industry this is a tsunami of problems to be dealt with. And we need the assistance from legislators,” Williams said.
During conversations on the Hill Thursday, Williams said ASCAP members will discuss the organization’s six guiding principles on AI protections: human creators first, transparency, consent, compensation, credit and global consistency.
“ASCAP is definitely not anti-tech,” Williams said.
But protections are needed to help create an even playing field, he said.
“We’re in a world that’s becoming more and more automated,” he added.
“There actually is no voice of AI because all of culture has been usurped.”
Ahead of Thursday’s push on the Hill, several ASCAP members will perform at a “We Write the Songs” concert Wednesday night at the Library of Congress.
The concert will feature performances from R&B and pop songwriting duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, producer and songwriter Jermaine Dupri, pop songwriter Madison Love, songwriting duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and contemporary Christian artist Matthew West.
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
