Comments of the Independent Music Creator Community regarding Generative Artificial Intelligence and US Department of Justice Views on Regulation as Discussed at the Stanford Workshop on Promoting Competition in AI on May 30, 2024.
The Songwriters Guild of America (“SGA”), the Society of Composers & Lyricists (“SCL”), and Music Creators North America (“MCNA”) represent a coalition of the largest and longest established music creator advocacy groups in the United States and North America.1 We write to applaud your insightful remarks on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) at the May 30, 2024 Stanford Workshop on Promoting Competition in AI (“the Stanford Conference”), and to offer further comments regarding the existential threats that unregulated, generative AI (“GenAI”) systems pose to American music creators.
We also wish to emphasize our eagerness to participate in future DOJ and US Government discussions and initiatives designed to address such GenAI threats, and to help maximize the opportunities that such new technologies can provide when subjected to thoughtful regulatory oversight. We agree that prompt action is necessary to avoid catastrophic damage to the American economy and to American musical culture, and thank the DOJ for its foresight in seeking the input of all affected parties, including members of the often-overlooked community of American songwriters and composers. The multi-national corporate music publishing industry may purport to speak on our behalf, but we speak for ourselves. We very much appreciate that the DOJ recognizes that fact, and we look forward to working with the Department in that spirit now and in the future.
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