Nordic musicians’ organisations, including the Association of Icelandic Musicians (FÍH), are calling for record labels, artificial intelligence companies and streaming platforms to negotiate directly with performers over the use of music to train AI models.
The appeal follows growing concern that record labels have allowed vast music catalogues to be used for AI training without performers’ consent or fair compensation.
What’s the Story?
Original source: RÚV
- Nordic musicians’ organisations say AI has already been trained on almost all commercially released music.
- They argue performers never consented to AI training under older recording contracts.
- Iceland’s delayed implementation of an EU digital directive could still allow lawmakers to strengthen performers’ rights.
Contracts under scrutiny
The joint statement is backed by musicians’ organisations across the Nordic countries, as well as international performers’ unions and the Alliance of Icelandic Artists.
FÍH chair Gunnar Hrafnsson told RÚV that recording agreements signed before the emergence of generative AI never contemplated the use of artists’ work for machine learning.
He said some newer contracts seek to grant labels broader rights over recordings, but maintained that older agreements cannot reasonably be interpreted as authorising AI training.
The organisations are calling for future AI use in music to be governed through collective agreements that guarantee performers’ consent, transparency, fair remuneration and respect for artistic rights.
Hrafnsson said the Nordic campaign emerged following discussions at an international conference in Athens, where performers’ organisations agreed to coordinate their legal response. He believes the initiative could provide a model for similar efforts elsewhere.
He also argued musicians are not opposed to AI itself, noting that many artists already use AI creatively. Instead, he questioned why performers whose recordings underpin AI-generated music receive no share of the resulting profits.
Hrafnsson added that Iceland may still have an opportunity to strengthen protections before implementing the EU’s Digital Single Market (DSM) Directive.
He urged policymakers to ensure performers’ rights are addressed during the legislative process, warning that without sustainable careers for musicians, the creative works on which AI depends would ultimately diminish.
Read more stories covering Icelandic society, politics, business, and culture at Iceland Review News.
