Study predicts:

AI will rob musicians of a quarter of their income

The study predicts revenue losses of 22 billion euros within the next five years.

(Bild: thinkstockphotos.de)

Artificial intelligence could turn the music sector upside down in the coming years. According to a global study commissioned by the international umbrella organization of authors and composers CISAC, creators of music and audiovisual content will lose around a quarter of their income by 2028 due to generative AI applications. 

Specifically, the study, which was based on case studies on AI as well as economic estimates on the market penetration of generative AI services, assumes a loss of revenue of 24% for the music sector and 21% for the audiovisual sector by 2028.

This corresponds to a cumulative loss of 22 billion euros over the five-year period, according to a press release on Wednesday. At the same time, the market for AI-generated content will grow massively, from around three billion euros at present to 64 billion euros in 2028.

Call for stronger regulation
The umbrella organization is therefore calling for stronger regulation in this area. It criticizes the "unauthorized use" of copyrighted works by AI models on the one hand, and the displacement of traditional sources of income for authors on the other.

Although CISAC President and ABBA musician Björn Ulvaeus sees "new and exciting possibilities" in AI, it must be accepted "that generative AI, if poorly regulated, also has the power to cause great harm to human creators, their careers and their livelihoods".

Peter Vieweger, President of the domestic collecting society AKM, calls for transparency regarding the use of works for AI products as well as appropriate financial compensation. "Human creativity must not be sacrificed."