The Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL), the Songwriters Guild of America (SGA), and the Music Creators North America (MCNA) coalition applaud Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and John Kennedy (R-LA) for introducing the AI Labeling Act of 2023. The bill would require that every generative AI system that produces images, videos, audio, or multimedia content should include a clear and conspicuous disclosure that it was created through a generative AI system.
For decades, SCL, SGA, and the organizations of MCNA have championed American music and the rights of those who create it. The creative endeavors of our tens of thousands of members power the music and audiovisual industries of the United States and contribute immensely to the cultural and economic value for society and add immeasurably to America’s prestige and influence around the globe. With the recent rise in unregulated implementation of generative AI technology and the increasing use of that technology to copy, steal and repurpose music through creation of “training” systems and unauthorized derivative works, we are committed to protecting and advancing the interests of our membership throughout the U.S. and the world by ensuring that AI companies, and their generative models, adhere to the fundamental “Three C’s:” Consent, Credit and Compensation.
For this reason, SCL, SGA, and their affiliated North American music creator advocacy group MCNA (together with its international network of independent music creators numbering in the hundreds of thousands), wholeheartedly endorse the AI Labeling Act of 2023. It is essential as a matter of protecting speech and information freedoms –as well as promoting cultural advancement– that consumers are enabled to know when they are interacting, looking, or listening to something that was generated by generative AI machines and systems rather than human beings. We will continue to work with Senators Schatz and Kennedy, as well as all other Members of Congress, to advance this bill to ensure our voices are heard.
The bill text is available here.
The Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL) is the premier U.S. organization for music creators working in all forms of visual media. With chapters in Los Angeles, New York, and Nashville, the SCL operates as the primary voice for over 3,000 members who work as creators of scores and songs for film, television, video games, and theatre. With members in every state of the U.S. as well as 80 countries around the world, the SCL is committed to advancing the interests of composers and lyricists and helping them achieve their full career potential in a demanding and ever-changing field.
The Songwriters Guild of America, Inc. (SGA) is the longest established and largest music creator advocacy and copyright administrative organization in the U.S. run solely by and for songwriters, composers, lyricists and their heirs. Its positions are reasoned and formulated solely in the interests of music creators, without financial influence or other undue interference from parties whose interests are in conflict with those of songwriters, composers, and other authors of creative works. SGA’s organizational membership stands at over 4,500 members, and through its affiliations with both Music Creators North America (MCNA) (of which it is a founding member) and the International Council of Music Creators (CIAM) (of which MCNA is a key Continental Alliance Member), SGA is part of a global coalition of music creators and heirs numbering over a million.
Music Creators North America (MCNA) is an alliance of independent songwriter and composer organizations that advocates and educates on behalf of North America’s music creator community. As the only internationally recognized voice of American and Canadian songwriters and composers, MCNA, through its affiliation with the International Council of Music Creators (CIAM), is part of a coalition that represents the professional interests and aspirations of more than half a million creators across Africa, Asia, Australasia, North and South America, and Europe. For more information: https://www.musiccreatorsna.org/
