Merlin, which oversees digital licensing for the independent sector, has outlined its position on the use of music in training artificial intelligence in a new memo.
But Merlin hit back against this argument on Friday: “Taking someone else’s creative work — without permission, without compensation, and with the specific purpose of using that work to create new works that are substitutional for the original — is inherently not fair use,” the statement reads. Merlin and its members have always embraced and adapted to technological change, while ensuring that the value of human creativity is respected. Artistic expression is a fundamental part of what makes us human. The ability to create, appreciate, and enjoy art, in all its forms, is foundational to the human experience. Music, in particular, brings people together, evokes emotions, and helps us express thoughts and feelings.
However, Merlin cannot support any product, regardless of its purpose, that has been trained on Merlin members’ music without permission. The legal test for fair use involves four criteria, relating to the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyright work, the amount used, and the effect upon the market or value of the copyright work. Unlicensed commercial AI models fail on all four. Any AI company that trains its models by scraping the internet for copyright-protected sound recordings is making unauthorized reproductions of entire copyright works.