As the artificial intelligence revolution continues reshaping creative industries, three major North American performance rights organizations—ASCAP, BMI, and SOCAN—have established landmark unified policies addressing AI-generated musical compositions. This coordinated approach marks a significant shift in how performance rights societies manage creative works incorporating artificial intelligence elements while maintaining protection for human creators.
The newly aligned policies now explicitly permit registration of partially AI-generated musical works, acknowledging the growing integration of AI tools into compositional processes. Under these guidelines, works combining AI-generated elements with meaningful human creative input qualify for standard registration and royalty distribution. The societies emphasized that entirely AI-created works—those produced without substantial human direction or creative contribution—remain ineligible for protection or royalty collection.
Qualifying compositions must demonstrate a human-led creative process, which may include editing, curating, or integrating AI outputs into the final work. BMI officials confirmed that royalties for these hybrid works will flow through existing systems without differentiation from fully human-created songs, guaranteeing creators receive compensation regardless of the tools employed in their creative process.
The three PROs took a strong stance against AI companies that train models on copyrighted works without permission or compensation, characterizing such practices as theft rather than fair use. This position signals potential future legal challenges against unauthorized use of musical works for AI development.
Songwriters can now directly register compositions with AI elements through each society’s standard submission processes, with these works being integrated into the organizations’ full licensing repertoires. Despite encouraging transparency, the societies have determined that disclosure of AI use in submissions remains recommended but not mandatory.
The alignment reflects the societies’ attempt to balance technological innovation with traditional authorship principles while providing clarity in an evolving creative landscape. Artists seeking to monetize their AI-assisted works should consider proper registration with these performance rights organizations to ensure they receive all entitled royalties.
This unified approach guarantees consistency across North American music markets and provides creators with clear guidelines as AI tools become increasingly prevalent in music production. The policy aligns with the U.S. Copyright Office’s position that works combining human creativity with AI can receive copyright protection when they contain sufficient human expression. Many musicians are exploring these AI-assisted compositions as one of several sync deals opportunities that can provide significant income alongside traditional revenue streams. The policy represents a measured response to technological evolution while maintaining the fundamental principle that meaningful human creative contribution remains central to copyright protection and compensation.
