ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus warns of “challenge” AI will bring to music industry

nme.com:

ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus has warned of the “existential challenge” of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the music industry.Ulvaeus is the president of CISAC, a non-profit organisation that represents songwriters and composers around the world, collecting and paying royalties to its members whose music has been used in broadcasts, concerts, bars and on streaming services.A new report from the organisation showed that royalty collections for songwriters and composers had recovered from pre-pandemic levels but Ulvaeus warned that AI could present greater challenges to musicians going forward.In a forward to a new report from CISAC, Ulvaeus wrote: “This year’s results show that the collective management system, despite all the enormous challenges it faces in adapting to digital, is still robust and effective.

CMOs (collective management organisations) have the backs of the creators they serve and are now delivering more money to more creators than ever before.“And that is good news – because, fresh from Covid and the economic squeeze, what we now face is another very serious, existential challenge – that of artificial intelligence.

AI will radically change the world for creators and the creative industry.“It demands international leadership and a strong united front from all parts of the creative industry.”A post shared by CISAC (@cisacnews)Reflecting on 2022’s report, CISAC director general Gadi Oron added: “This is a remarkable return to growth as our whole sector fully recovers from the disastrous three-year pandemic.“While live and public performance have bounced back strongly, the recovery is driven most of all by digital which has now become creators’ largest source of income.