APRA and Canada's SOCAN Say Govt Must Work With Music Industry on Rise of AI

Australia and Canada should work together to ensure the rise of artificial intelligence supports, rather than undermines, music creators, according to APRA AMCOS and Canadian counterpart, SOCAN.

APRA AMCOS CEO Dean Ormston and SOCAN CEO Jennifer Brown released the joint statement on Friday after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to Parliament this week, where both leaders highlighted the importance of collaboration between “middle power” nations in an increasingly competitive technological landscape.

Albanese said countries like Australia and Canada must “seek and create new ways to stand with and for each other”, while Carney warned that nations that fail to shape the development of artificial intelligence risk being caught “between the hyperscalers and the hegemons”.

It comes as SOCAN CEO Jennifer Brown is in Sydney this week attending the CISAC Board of Directors meeting.

APRA and SOCAN say the creative economy including the global music sector should be central to that cooperation.

Together, the two organisations represent close to 400,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers across Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, and argue that decisions being made now around AI training and licensing will determine whether the benefits of the technology are shared across the creative industries or concentrated among a handful of global tech platforms.

"Australia has already demonstrated that: becoming the first country in the world to rule out a copyright exception for AI training and beginning work on a practical licensing framework instead. Canada is engaged in the same contest. Both countries understand that the choice is not between innovation and creator protection: it is a false choice, and a self-interested one, advanced by those who prefer to avoid the importance of artists and creators in the technological development of AI," the statement reads.

"The sustainable path, and ultimately the more productive one, is a genuine partnership between the technology sector and the people who create the content that gives it value. That means consent before use, transparency about what is used, and fair remuneration that flows back to creators and the communities they belong to. It means AI development that enhances the quality and diversity of human creativity rather than cannibalising it.

"If middle powers are to shape the rules of the AI era rather than simply inherit them, culture is not a footnote to that mission. It is part of the foundation. We look forward to working with both governments to build it."