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Music industry laws not keeping pace with speed of AI, to the detriment of artists

Published: 10 Dec. 2025, 14:59 Updated: 10 Dec. 2025, 19:54

An image depicting AI composing music [JOONGANG ILBO]

Artificial intelligence is reshaping how music gets made, letting artists produce full tracks alone in minutes or even seconds. However, copyright law and royalty systems have not kept pace, leaving basic questions — such as who counts as an author, and who gets paid — unsettled.

What once took teams of musicians, producers and engineers to create can now be made on a single laptop with tools that generate composition, instrumentation, melodies and even vocals from simple text prompts.

Singer Park Sae-byul used the AI music program Suno to create her album “Breath: Still” in September. The platform allows users to generate songs based on simple prompts, such as “Make a song in the style of a K-pop boy band.”

“If I input a piano accompaniment, melody and lyrics, Suno produces a backing track to match,” Park said. “It separates instruments like guitar and drums into different tracks so I can combine the ones I like and complete the song.

“I used to call in a guitarist to record multiple takes, a time-consuming and costly process. You can’t ask a person to play the same chord 100 times, but AI can simulate performances until you get exactly what you want. That allows me to realize the sound I originally envisioned.”

As AI accelerates the pace of production, the role of musicians is also changing.

Composer Bae Young-goon who runs the YouTube channel “Deulttokno,” translated to “Songs That Make You Smarter,” uploaded nearly 200 songs this year alone.

“Suno does in one minute what used to take me 10 hours,” Bae said. “My job now is to develop a concept for the lyrics and curate the output. I’ve become more of a producer than a composer.”

His channel earns between 4 million and 7 million won ($2,700 to $4,800) a month.

“Because the Korea Music Copyright Association [Komca] does not allow copyright registration for songs created with AI, I make money through ad revenue from YouTube views, not royalties,” Bae said.

AI-generated music is also being used more widely. YouTubers and influencers, including mixed martial artist Choo Sung-hoon on his YouTube channel are using AI tracks as background music.

Musical notes are seen on sheet music in this illustration on April 4, 2018. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

“Some cafes and gyms also use AI-generated songs to avoid copyright fees,” an AI industry source said.
AI vocals and video synthesis are also entering the mainstream.

In November, the K-pop duo Deux released a new track titled “Rise,” using an AI-generated voice modeled after the late Kim Sung-jae. The song, written and produced by fellow member Lee Hyun-do, was combined with video and vocal data trained on Kim’s past performances. The project was completed with the approval of Kim’s family.

Deep voice technology is also becoming more common in professional studios.

“Instead of hiring someone to record a demo, we now have AI sing the guide track, which saves both time and money,” a composer with over a decade of experience said.

While the music industry adapts quickly with AI, legal frameworks have not.

Park said she did not receive royalty income for her latest album because it was created using AI.

Music streaming apps are seen on an iPhone in New York on Jan. 28, 2018. [AP/YONHAP]

“At the moment, the Komca’s standards rely on the composer’s honesty,” she said. “We need clear rules about how much of a song must be human-made to qualify for copyright, and how AI use should be verified.”

Kim Jae-kook, head of the Korea Singer-songwriter Association, warned that creators will suffer financial losses if legal responses to AI continue to lag.

“The longer we wait, the worse the damage will be for musicians,” he said.

Lawyers also say compensation is needed for the original works used to train AI.

“There are countless creators whose songs are being used to train AI systems without their knowledge,” said Kang Ae-ri, a lawyer specializing in copyright law. “AI companies must obtain music with clear licensing and compensation, and they should disclose what materials were used.

“If prior permission was not obtained, rights holders should be able to seek compensation retroactively.”

The Komca acknowledged the limitations of the current system.

“Current copyright law only recognizes works that express human thoughts and emotions,” a Komca official said. “Until standards are established, we have no choice but to withhold recognition of AI-generated music. The legal framework must be updated quickly to define how AI music should be categorized and registered, and who is responsible for proving the origin of training data.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHOI MIN-JI [[email protected]]