The system could help musicians get paid when AI uses their music
Sony has developed new technology that can detect which real songs were used to create music made by artificial intelligence (AI).
The company says this tool can help songwriters and music owners receive payment if their music was used to train AI systems.
When AI creates music, it usually learns from thousands or even millions of existing songs. The problem is that many of those songs are protected by copyright.
Sony’s new system can analyze an AI-generated song and identify which original artists or songs influenced it. It can even estimate how much each artist contributed.
For example, the system might show that a song was influenced “30% by The Beatles and 10% by Queen.”
If an AI company agrees to cooperate, Sony can connect directly to its system to check the training data. If not, Sony’s technology can still compare the AI song with existing music and make an estimate.
AI has grown very quickly in recent years. Many AI companies are accused of using copyrighted music, videos, and writing without permission.
In music especially, AI-generated songs that copy the voices or styles of famous singers have appeared online.
Sony believes its technology could help create a fair payment system. If it becomes possible to identify which original songs were used, music creators could receive royalties from AI developers.
How Music Rights Work
Sony is a multinational conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. In Japan, music rights are divided into two main groups:
- Copyrights – owned by songwriters, composers, and publishers
- Neighboring rights – owned by performers and record producers
Sony owns major music labels and controls half of the late Michael Jackson’s music catalog.
Today, when songs are used in movies, TV shows, or streaming services, companies collect money and pay the rights holders. Sony hopes a similar system could be used for AI-generated music.
The technology was created by Sony AI, the research division of Sony Group.
Sony AI has also worked on tools to stop AI systems from copying the style of animation studios like Studio Ghibli.
The company says this new system could also be used in videos, games, and character design in the future.
Sony has not yet announced when the technology will be fully launched. It also remains unclear whether AI companies will adopt it, as some may focus more on improving AI performance than on copyright protection.
