Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence comes with opportunities as well as risks and challenges for music authors. As the music sector is increasingly using AI related technologies in various ways, ECSA wishes to ensure that music creators and their rights are protected in further policy initiatives on this matter.
EU AI Act
AI’s rapid developments and its impact on authors’ rights have become increasingly urgent issues. The topic has therefore been put at centre stage of ECSA's advocacy efforts, with a particular focus on the EU AI Act, which was formally adopted by the European Parliament on 13 March 2024, after a lengthy negotiation period.
In the context of the adoption of the AI Act, 13 authors’, performers’ and other creative workers’ organisations, including ECSA, have repeatedly called for an effective implementation in order to preserve fundamental rights, safeguard transparency, and enable authors and performers to exercise their rights. Legislation must be built upon informed consent, transparency, and fair remuneration.
In a statement published on 28 March 2025, the same coaltion strongly rejected the AI Act's General Purpose AI (GPAI) Code of Practice, as drafted by the AI Office. The Code of Practice should detail the AI Act rules for providers of general-purpose AI models. However, its third draft creates legal uncertainty, misinterprets EU copyright law and undercuts the obligations set out in the AI Act itself.
The coalition's most recent statement comes from 19 June 2025, and was published in the context of the draft European Parliament report on “Copyright and generative artificial intelligence – opportunities and challenges" by MEP Axel Voss. In the letter, the coalition calls on the JURI Committee to ensure that the development of generative AI complies with the principles of informed authorisation, remuneration and transparency for authors, performers and other rightholders.
Working Group on Technology and Artificial Intelligence
In this new digital and technological era of the music industry, it is important to stay up to date with emerging technologies and to realize which of these could become innovations within the music industry. This is why ECSA, in 2022, has created a Technology and Artificial Intelligence (Tech and AI) Working Group. The Working Group aims at identifying new and relevant technologies and online services which have or will have an impact on musical diversity and the remuneration of music authors.
Human Artistry Campaign
In March 2023, ECSA joined the Human Artistry Campaign, launched to advocate for AI use that supports artists, performers and all creatives. Learn more about the core principles for AI applications in support of human creativity, and join us in supporting the campaign.