Beyond Ghostwriting

The Legal Implications of AI in Rap Music

Abstract

The increased capabilities associated with the innovations of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have extended towards music, with uses for production, songwriting, and recording vocals. For rap music, especially, these uses have special implications due to the emphasis on sample-based production, authentic lyrics, and natural delivery. This paper examines the application of AI in rap music and its potential legal consequences by examining both rap music and AI's individual perception within the legal sphere followed by a discussion on where the three intersect. Rap music has been subject to vague and outdated precedence surrounding samples and interpolation, and AI litigation is mainly directed towards the developers who use material to train the AI, rather than the end-user. In total, the use of AI in rap music provides a legal loophole for musicians, songwriters, and producers to use parts of other musical works without clearance due to the legal issue being on the AI model itself, rather than the output of the model

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