STIM Launches AI Music Licence as Global Music Body Slams Copyright Infringement

BRUSSELS / STOCKHOLM, Sept. 22, 2025 — The last one week has been eventful for the entertainment sector, especially the music industry, with a global music body taking a dig at Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies for copyright infringement. Just few days earlier, Sweden saw launch of the “world’s first AI music licence.”

Notably, the use of AI has evolved in almost all creative audio-visual fields which include films, television and gaming.

A rampant use of music by AI companies has drawn the ire of International Confederation of Music Publishers, or ICMP. As per AFP, the global music industry has said that “AI companies have sucked up the world's entire music catalogue and are guilty of wilful, commercial-scale copyright infringement.”

ICMP’s diatribe came just days after Sweden’s music rights organisation Swedish Performing Rights Society, or STIM, introduced a licence that allows AI companies to legally use copyrighted songs for training their models, while ensuring that songwriters and composers are paid, reported Reuters.

The initiative to safeguard songwriters taken by rights group STIM is in response to a spike in generative AI usage across creative sectors that have prompted lawsuits from artists, authors, and rights holders.

There have been allegations from the creators allege AI firms use copyrighted material without consent or compensation to train their models.

Know More about STIM’s Swipe at AI Firms

Investigation Revelations: Last week, John Phelan, Director General of the ICMP told AFP that the world's largest tech companies as well as AI-specific companies, such as OpenAI, Suno, and Udio, Mistral, etc. are engaged in the largest copyright infringement exercise that has been seen.

The claims by STIM that generative AI companies used material to enrich their services is a result of two-years of investigation by the Brussels-based body.

The ICMP is one among the several industry bodies across news media and publishing that are working to combat booming AI sector over its use of content without paying royalties.

To put it in simpler terms, AI music generators such as Suno and Udio can produce tracks with voices, melodies and musical styles that replicate those of original artists such as the Beatles, Mariah Carey, Depeche Mode, or the Beach Boys.

The Recording Industry Association of America, a US trade group, filed a lawsuit in June 2024 against both companies. “What is legal or illegal is how the technologies are used. That means the corporate decisions made by the chief executives of companies matter immensely and should comply with the law,” John Phelan told AFP. “What we see is they are engaged in wilful, commercial-scale copyright infringement.”

The only exception was Eleven Music, an AI-generated music service provider, which inked a pact with Kobalt Music in August, Phelan said. OpenAI declined to comment when AFP reached out to it while Google, Mistral, Suno and Udio did not respond.

Tech giants often cite reasons such as ‘fair use,’ a copyright exception that allows the use of a work without permission under certain circumstances.

Contours of ICMP Probe: Analytical findings by the ICMP, first published in music outlet Billboard on September 9, blamed AI companies of indulging in widespread ‘scraping,’ a practice that uses programmes known as ‘crawlers’ which explore the internet for content.

“We believe they are doing so from licensed services such as YouTube (owned by Google) and other digital sources,” including music platforms, the group added.

As per ICMP, lyrics can be harvested to feed some models, which then use them for inspiration or reproduce them without permission.

In retaliation, rights holders have demanded tougher regulation, primarily through the European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act, to ensure transparency about the data used.

“It is essential to understand the scale of the threat facing authors, composers and publishers,” warned Juliette Metz, president of the French music publishers’ association and also an ICMP member. “There can be no use of copyright-protected music without a licence,” she said.

Why is STIM’s Music Licence Creatively Important?

The licence developed by STIM, which represents more than 100,000 songwriters, composers, and music publishers, allows AI systems to train on copyrighted works while paying royalties to creators.

According to the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, or CISAC, AI could reduce music creators’ income by up to 24 per cent by 2028.

“We show that it is possible to embrace disruption without undermining human creativity. This is not just a commercial initiative but a blueprint for fair compensation and legal certainty for AI firms,” Lina Heyman, STIM's acting CEO, said in a statement.

By 2028, generative AI outputs in music could approach $17 billion annually, according to CISAC.

Earlier, Sweden has set industry benchmarks for platforms such as Spotify and TikTok, and the new licence includes mandatory technology to track AI-generated outputs, ensuring transparency and payments for creators.

A major study in December last year by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, or CISAC, which represents more than five million creators worldwide, warned about the danger of AI-generated music. It predicts that artists could see their incomes reduce by more than 20 per cent in the next four years as the market for AI-composed music grows.

International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, which represents more than five million creators worldwide, last year said that artists could see their incomes reduce by more than 20% in the next four years as the market for AI-composed music grows.

Inputs from Saqib malik

Editing by David Ryder