Dame Hinewehi Mohi DNZM has slammed the rise of AI in music.
A new investigation by The Atlantic has uncovered millions of Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand musical works stolen as part of four “giant datasets of songs that are being shared within the AI-development community.”
The US publication’s AI Watchdog tool allows anyone to look up an artist and see exactly which of their songs have been fed into AI training systems without consent, without a licence, and without payment.
According to APRA AMCOS, some of the biggest names in Australian and New Zealand music are implicated.
From New Zealand, Bic Runga, Marlon Williams, Six60, Dave Dobbyn, Stan Walker, Split Enz, Lorde, Aldous Harding, Kaylee Bell, Ché Fu, and more are included.
In a statement shared with Rolling Stone AU/NZ through APRA AMCOS, Dame Hinewehi Mohi DNZM, who is Manukura Puoro Māori Director of Māori Membership at the organisation, said, “The theft of our music strikes at the very heart of our identity and cultural heritage. Once taken, its integrity cannot truly be restored.”
“Through the indiscriminate scraping of AI systems, our music is stripped of its context, distilled, diluted, and disconnected from its origins. This erasure cuts deeply into the essence of who I am, not only as a creator and advocate for local music, but as an Indigenous person whose culture, stories, and identity are woven into every note,” her statement added.
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According to APRA AMCOS’s recent ‘AI and Music Report’, ANZ songwriters and composers face a 23% revenue hit without a mandatory licensing framework. APRA AMCOS further reports that ANZ creators “stand to miss out on more than $500 million over just four years.”
Today’s revealing news could be even worse for local acts.
“These are early findings from a search that will take days to complete. The full picture will be larger still,” APRA AMCOS states.
“Midnight Oil. Sia. Crowded House. Lorde. Yothu Yindi. This week, AI companies are asking the Australian and New Zealand Governments for a copyright carve-out. This week, we can show you exactly what they have already taken. No permission. No licence. No payment. These are not bargaining chips, they are the life’s work of Australian and New Zealand songwriters,” APRA AMCOS Chief Executive Dean Ormston said.
