A comprehensive new study by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) reveals both opportunities and serious threats from AI music generation for Australian and New Zealand musicians.
According to the 2024 report, 38% of the 4,200 surveyed members are already using AI in their music work, with the highest adoption rates among 45-54 year olds at 45%. Musicians are primarily using AI for lyrics creation, exploring new musical horizons, and vocal synthesis. Electronic, production music, and hip-hop genres show the highest AI usage rates at over 50%.
Author’s of the report note that by 2028 an estimated 23% of music creators’ revenues – approximately AU$227 million annually – could be at risk from AI displacement. Generic music sectors such as production music, background music for retail, and music used in advertising face the highest threat.
In addition, 95% of surveyed musicians demand that copyright holders must be asked for permission before their works train AI systems. Currently, tech companies are using copyrighted music to train AI models without consent, credit, or compensation. This represents what many see as systematic theft of intellectual property on an industrial scale.
Many musicians (82%) fear they may no longer be able to make a living from music due to AI. The biggest risks include voice cloning and deepfakes, and the flooding of streaming platforms with AI-generated content that dilutes human-made music visibility. Last year Spotify removed 75 million deep fake tracks from its service. These are music tracks made to sound like popular artists, hoodwinking fans and diluting revenue to the true artists.
The survey reveals near-universal agreement on four key principles:
- 97% want policymakers to pay more attention to AI and copyright issues
- 96% demand transparency about when copyrighted works are used as AI training data
- 93% want AI-generated music clearly labeled; and
- 93% call for commercial involvement when their works are used in AI systems
Dean Ormston, CEO APRA AMCOS, says: “The survey reveals that many Australian and New Zealand songwriters, composers and music publishers are early adopters of AI technology.
“However, there is an almost universal and urgent call for government to do much more to protect the livelihoods of creators.
“Over the past two years, APRA AMCOS has voiced concerns about the lack of transparency in generative AI platforms. These platforms must acknowledge the creative content they scrape and copy, which is essential for generating AI outputs.
“Creators invest significant time and effort into their work, yet their intellectual property is exploited by AI platforms without credit, consent or compensation. This unauthorised use poses a serious threat to the economic and cultural landscape, potentially damaging careers and businesses, including those of First Nations creators.
“The issue lies not in the technology itself, but in the secretive corporate practices that erode trust within the global creative sector.”
Vulnerable sectors include production music libraries, Lo-fi playlists, sync music for advertising, and session musician workers face the highest displacement risk. However, music requiring authentic human experience and cultural connection remains more protected.
The report states that jazz musicians show relatively low AI adoption at the moment. Of the jazz musicians surveyed, 36% have used AI in their work, compared to 56% for electronic/dance music or 54% for advertising music. This puts jazz in the lower half of genres for AI adoption.
One of the conclusions of the report is that the industry needs immediate regulatory action establishing consent requirements, transparent licensing systems, and fair remuneration mechanisms.
Get the full report here.
