ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus Joins Canadian Government and Music Industry for AI Summit in Banff, Alberta

In the music and cultural industries, nobody can stop talking about AI.

This week in Banff, Alberta, that conversation took centre stage for three days at the National Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Culture. From March 15-17, 300 leaders from across the cultural and technology sectors converged in an event co-hosted by the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity and the Canadian government.

That included a large contingent from the music industry, including (among many others) representatives from Music Publishers Canada and SOCAN, who have been leaders when it comes to fair compensation and copyright for artificially generated works.

"It's been nice to see the industry aligned," Patrick Rogers, CEO of Music Canada, the organization that represents the major labels in Canada. "Everyone's talking to government from different perspectives, but from the same goal: we know that copyright is part of AI, and that part of the solution to getting proper licensing is based in transparency."

The music industry is uniquely equipped to deal with the conversation, he says, because they'e been through similar conversations with the rise of Napster and file sharing and later streaming services as the dominant model of music consumption.

While their stances and experiences may differ, he says, there's a common goal to make sure if the ubiquity of AI marches on in the music industry, it must be done in a way that respects creators and their copyright.

"We're all coming from it from a place of making sure that artists get paid when their music is used in these [AI] models. I think that's true of majors and indies, along with publishers and collectives. There's a unity of message."

CISAC (the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) is an organization made up of 227 member societies in 111 countries, including SOCAN in Canada. It represents more than 5 million creators from music to drama, literature and visual arts and has contributed key research about AI and creativity.

In a remote speech, CISAC president Björn Ulvaeus (likely best known as a member of Swedish pop giants ABBA), spoke about the importance of protecting creators in the age of AI.

"If we want human creativity to thrive in the age of artificial intelligence, we must ensure strong protections for creators. Strong protections mean not only making sure that rights are in place but also resisting broad text and data mining exceptions that allow works to be used without permission or payment. When creators are protected, they can continue producing the amusing and cultural works for which Canada is respected around the world."

Resisting the text and data mining exception aligns him with Music Publishers Canada's Margaret McGuffin, who argued in an Executive of the Week interview with Billboard Canada earlier this year that existing copyright legislation already accounts for AI and should not be changed to suit "disruptive" tech companies.

"There is no grey area," she said. "People who say there is don’t want to license. They want to avoid paying."

In his speech, Ulvaeus stressed that the cultural sector is not afraid of AI, but want to see it proceed with caution and fairness. He met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in November, he shared, and told him about how copyright protections led to the rise of ABBA on the global stage.

"Like me, many [creators] are working right now with the different forms of this technology and are embracing the possibilities it brings," he said. But they are afraid, and quite rightly so, of losing their rights and losing their income through the unauthorized use of their works...The alternative is a dangerous path. It removes the creator's fundamental right to negotiate for the use of their work. It weakens their ability to earn a living from their talent. And it places at risk the rich diversity of cultural expression that defines this country, from Indigenous traditions to many languages and stories that form Canada's national heritage.

"The narrative driven by profit seeking tech companies that innovation and copyright cannot coexist, is simply untrue. We've heard this argument many times before with previous technologies. Protecting creators rights in no way means trying to stop the advance of technology."

In an interview with CBC, Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, talked about why it was important that the cultural sector be part of Canada's policy-making when it comes to AI. There's an economic argument, with the industry committing nearly $65 billion to the country's economy. There's also a more fundamental one that has to do with how the country defines itself on the global stage.

"They play a big role in our sovereignty, in how we reflect who we are," says Solomon. "So we've got to take this industry very seriously."

As part of that commitment, the government will launch an AI and Culture Advisory council with Solomon, Canadian Identity and Culture Minister Marc Miller, and 12 yet-to-be-named rotating members across creative and technology fields. They will meet twice a year to make sure voices are heard in both fields as they prepare to launch a national AI strategy.

CISAC makes three specific policy recommendations:

1. AI training must be subject to clear transparency rules

2. Creators must be able to license their own works

3. Remuneration of those creators must be guaranteed.

As for Music Canada, Rogers is optimistic that AI will represent a new avenue for creativity and compensation for the Canadian music industry. They just can't have conversations about AI music without a proper legal licensing framework.

"We are in the baby stages right now," says Rogers. "But I think in the future, we will remember these days as very important starting blocks of a licensed, legal service."