AI Music Copyright: What the U.S. Copyright Office Says

Rick Beato discusses the recent report from the U.S. Copyright Office regarding the copyrightability of AIgenerated works. The key takeaway is that **human involvement is necessary** for a work to be copyrightable.

According to the report, a person who translates an idea into a tangible form is entitled to copyright protection. However, materials created solely by nonhumans are not eligible. This means that if you use an AI platform to generate a complete song without significant human input, the song is unlikely to be copyrightable.

Beato recalls testifying before Congress in November 2023, where he recommended that fully generative AI works should not be eligible for copyright protection.

Testing AI Music Platforms: Murea and Suno

Beato dives into handson testing of two AI music platforms: **Murea** and **Sunno**. He's been hearing buzz about improvements in these platforms, particularly regarding their ability to mimic country music.

Murea: Exploring Genres and Song Generation

First, Beato explores Murea. He starts by listening to a trending pop song generated by the platform. He notes that it doesn't sound drastically different from contemporary pop country.

He then experiments with the "create similar" function, generating variations on the original song. He observes a slight "phasing" sound in one of the variations, suggesting it might be a fake guitar.

Beato explores other genres within Murea, including heavy rock and indie romantic. He finds the vocals in the indie romantic track sound synthetic and less impressive than vocals in some earlier AIgenerated music he's encountered. He then attempts to create a dark alternative rock song using the platform's lyric and music generation capabilities. He describes the results as "cheesy" and "terrible," criticizing the quality of the generated music, especially the guitar sounds.

Sunno: A Shockingly Good AI Music Platform

Next, Beato moves on to Sunno, a platform he discussed in a previous video. He explores the trending tab, listening to various songs created by users. He highlights several examples, showcasing different genres and vocal styles. He notes that Sunno is **shockingly good** and that the quality of some of the AIgenerated vocals is impressive.

He plays examples of female vocalist deconstructed slow core, cloud rap tech house, dream pop gothic folk, and a children's song. He points out the specificity of the prompts used to generate some of these tracks.

The Future of AI Music and Human Creativity

Beato concludes by stating that he believes AI music is here to stay and will become increasingly popular. Despite some reservations from his friends, he thinks people will embrace AIgenerated music. He encourages viewers to share their thoughts in the comments.