Michael Nash, EVP and Chief Digital Officer at Universal Music Group, delivered a keynote presentation at the UN’s AI for Good summit in Geneva on Tuesday (Jul. 8) According to Music Business Worldwide, the summit gathers UN decision-makers, politicians, ambassadors, and other stakeholders to discuss AI in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Nash offered insights into how UMG is approaching artificial intelligence, and why he believes “market-based solutions are the answer” to AI in music.
“In our artist-centric vision, AI innovation can drive music culture,” Nash said. “And in so doing, generate even greater benefits to the quality of life on this planet.”
Last month, Timbaland drew criticism after he announced that he was signing an A.I. artist. Similarly, Erykah Badu and Alchemist also faced some backlash when it was revealed that the single artwork for their track “Next To You“ was generated by A.I. But Nash argues that artists will still be the focus for UMG, the biggest music licensor in the world.
“Universal’s strategy on A.I. is based on a simple philosophy: center the conversation on artists, defend their rights and interests, and from that foundation, forge new creative and commercial opportunities,” Nash explained.
The rise of A.I. in creative arts has led to anxiety about how labels will approach the technology going forward. Nash addressed those concerns while advocating for an embrace of copyright and looking to the future.
“Copyright is not the enemy of innovation, quite the opposite,” Nash stated. “Media tech convergence predicated on respect for copyright has produced a multi-trillion Euro economy, and that started with Apple marrying iPod with iTunes in 2003 as a critical early step embracing licensed music [to] create the first trillion dollar company.”
“You can’t forge new business models with no rights,” Nash said. “If you don’t claim a seat at the dinner table, you might wind up on the menu.”
Nash also downplayed The Velvet Sundown, an A.I.-generated band that has drawn tremendous media scrutiny this month. “A lot of novelty will come along,” said Nash. “People are talking about Velvet [Sundown], which is this fake A.I. artist [project], you know, maybe a conceptual project,” he added.
“There’s been a lot of publicity about that. Because of all the publicity, they have 1 million listeners on Spotify. That would not break them into the top 10,000 acts in terms of the size of the monthly [listening], because these are huge platforms that have tremendous volume.”
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